Sellout Theory
04/06/04, 09:36 PM
You guys might wanna read this.
If any of you have ever heard of poetry.com or poets.com, read this now.. And if you haven't, read it anyway.
The International Library of Poetry (ILP), also known as the National Library of Poetry, Poetry.com, the International Society of Poets, the International Poetry Hall of Fame, and/or Watermark Press, has been running a scam for the past..hmm.. 14 years now.
The process:
1)submit a poem
2)wait a while
3)you'll get a letter in the mail saying you've been selected to be published, and how to purchase the book you'll be published in...which of course costs 60 dollars (and they say thats a discounted price)
4)few months later you'll get another letter saying you've been selected to be one of 33 people that have received the "editors choice award" and that will have their poems read by a celebrity and recorded on a cd. of course everyone receives this, not just 33 people. instructions on how to purchase the cd follow.
5)few months later you'll be told your poem has made it to being read at a national convention.. if only you'll pay more money if you cant make it to the convention (and you wont make it to the convention because YOU have to pay to get there, and YOU have to pay to feed yourself while you're there.. if there is a there because i cant find anyone whos actually gone "there"). and later on you might be told that you'll get an award, a bowl, or many other things. all of them you ironically have to pay for in some form.
if you don't believe me... submit a poem. but don't submit a good poem. write a bunch of random lines that are in no way related, put them together in a random order, and then submit it. maybe you'll be lucky enough to be one of 33 people to receive an editors choice award? just dont include the word "scam" in your poem, because for some strange reason the poetry.com filters do not allow this word to be in any poetry.
for a good example of this: do a search on the site for an author by the name of John Buckman. the poem is titled "Disgrace". reading this poem really makes you wonder if they even read ANY of the poems that are submitted... or if a computer just filters out swear words and words like "scam".
the business has its base in maryland. oddly enough, the maryland BBB has it listed as being in compliance.
the irony of the situation is that legally speaking, the place may actually not be doing anything wrong. they over a product/service, and fulfull there end of the bargain. they actually DO give out the money awards they say they do believe it or not. so it isnt really about legality, its more about immorality. poetry.com is a joke. hundreds of people are duped every day into thinking that their poem is "unique", and that they have made an "outstanding achievement in poetry". alot of them even BRAG to others about their so-called "accomplishment". they need to be enlightened. this businesses sole purpose is to make money by selling books. do not believe a word they say.
please let anyone you know who has done business with this site about their immoral ways.
for more information do a google search for anything like "poetry.com scam" or "poetry.com fraud" and you'll see the hundreds of pages related to this. a great site with alot of information on this topic can be found here:
http://www.writing-world.com/rights/contests.shtml
a selection from the above site:
"There is no indication that the company does not, in fact, provide the prizes promised in its ads. As Strauss and others point out, there is nothing illegal about the operation. The problem, in their eyes (and in the eyes of many other writing organizations) is that this type of competition misleads hopeful writers into believing that their work has been "chosen" on the basis of merit -- when, in fact, no such selection has taken place. Strauss also points out "because of the poor quality of most of the poems, anthology credits are not respected by publishing professionals.""
another very good site to visit is:
http://wockyjivvy.com/poetry/shame/index.html
Posted by strobe32 on TheDailyShit.com (http://www.thedailyshit.com/profile.php?mode=register&ruid=41)
If any of you have ever heard of poetry.com or poets.com, read this now.. And if you haven't, read it anyway.
The International Library of Poetry (ILP), also known as the National Library of Poetry, Poetry.com, the International Society of Poets, the International Poetry Hall of Fame, and/or Watermark Press, has been running a scam for the past..hmm.. 14 years now.
The process:
1)submit a poem
2)wait a while
3)you'll get a letter in the mail saying you've been selected to be published, and how to purchase the book you'll be published in...which of course costs 60 dollars (and they say thats a discounted price)
4)few months later you'll get another letter saying you've been selected to be one of 33 people that have received the "editors choice award" and that will have their poems read by a celebrity and recorded on a cd. of course everyone receives this, not just 33 people. instructions on how to purchase the cd follow.
5)few months later you'll be told your poem has made it to being read at a national convention.. if only you'll pay more money if you cant make it to the convention (and you wont make it to the convention because YOU have to pay to get there, and YOU have to pay to feed yourself while you're there.. if there is a there because i cant find anyone whos actually gone "there"). and later on you might be told that you'll get an award, a bowl, or many other things. all of them you ironically have to pay for in some form.
if you don't believe me... submit a poem. but don't submit a good poem. write a bunch of random lines that are in no way related, put them together in a random order, and then submit it. maybe you'll be lucky enough to be one of 33 people to receive an editors choice award? just dont include the word "scam" in your poem, because for some strange reason the poetry.com filters do not allow this word to be in any poetry.
for a good example of this: do a search on the site for an author by the name of John Buckman. the poem is titled "Disgrace". reading this poem really makes you wonder if they even read ANY of the poems that are submitted... or if a computer just filters out swear words and words like "scam".
the business has its base in maryland. oddly enough, the maryland BBB has it listed as being in compliance.
the irony of the situation is that legally speaking, the place may actually not be doing anything wrong. they over a product/service, and fulfull there end of the bargain. they actually DO give out the money awards they say they do believe it or not. so it isnt really about legality, its more about immorality. poetry.com is a joke. hundreds of people are duped every day into thinking that their poem is "unique", and that they have made an "outstanding achievement in poetry". alot of them even BRAG to others about their so-called "accomplishment". they need to be enlightened. this businesses sole purpose is to make money by selling books. do not believe a word they say.
please let anyone you know who has done business with this site about their immoral ways.
for more information do a google search for anything like "poetry.com scam" or "poetry.com fraud" and you'll see the hundreds of pages related to this. a great site with alot of information on this topic can be found here:
http://www.writing-world.com/rights/contests.shtml
a selection from the above site:
"There is no indication that the company does not, in fact, provide the prizes promised in its ads. As Strauss and others point out, there is nothing illegal about the operation. The problem, in their eyes (and in the eyes of many other writing organizations) is that this type of competition misleads hopeful writers into believing that their work has been "chosen" on the basis of merit -- when, in fact, no such selection has taken place. Strauss also points out "because of the poor quality of most of the poems, anthology credits are not respected by publishing professionals.""
another very good site to visit is:
http://wockyjivvy.com/poetry/shame/index.html
Posted by strobe32 on TheDailyShit.com (http://www.thedailyshit.com/profile.php?mode=register&ruid=41)