Do you think poetry belongs on Hubpages?

1. 94

   davidlivermoreposted 10 years ago

   Do you think poetry belongs on Hubpages?
   
   I am going Hub Hopping and I would say 70% of the hubs are poetry.  Now I like poetry, I even have one poem myself on Hubpages, but should poetry really be on here?

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2. 59

   tirelesstravelerposted 10 years ago

   Sometimes think poetry is stress relief.  I enjoy some of them.  Have written a few. It must be the dreary day, because I don't usually see that much poetry while hub hopping, but I will go check.

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3. 87

   innerspinposted 10 years ago

   There's something going on this month with poetry, like the write a novel in a month during November, only with....poems.
   
   Poetry is a very personal thing. It's hard to find something that everyone will appreciate. I have a handful of poems here, but write more factual hubs. I don't see why they shouldn't be here if they are good quality. The ratio of poems up for publication will probably reduce soon.

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4. 80

   Diana Leeposted 10 years ago

   Poetry is one of the most powerfully emotion filled type of writing style you will find. Our hopes and dreams transform into a written verse strong with meanings. Certainly room should always be here at Hub Pages for good poems, but I don't feel it fair for them to be subject to the rating games of the hub hopper as if they were articles because they simply are nothing alike.

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5. 92

   FatFreddysCatposted 10 years ago

   Lots of people post it and seem to do pretty well with it. If that's their thing and they're getting readers, more power to'em. It does nothing for me personally though.

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   1. 87

      innerspinposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Oh, Freddy, when you're ready, please rethink your blinkered stance, open up your world to poetry, to magic and romance!

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   2. 92

      FatFreddysCatposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I did my share of poetry study in college ... and that was about all I needed. It's just not my thing. Unless you count dirty limericks as "poetry."

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   3. 87

      innerspinposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Ha ha! It certainly won't help when you have a mad woman spouting a terrible verse at you! Quite understand.

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6. 92

   Theophanesposted 10 years ago

   Well poetry is a form of writing so I don't see why it shouldn't be considered a part of HubPages. It might be nice however if you could signify article or poem. It'd make searches easier for people who want to read one or the other... maybe that is an option?

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7. 0

   paxwillposted 10 years ago

   I can't imagine that it helps raise the quality of the site in Google's eyes, after all, anyone can call himself a "poet" and call anything a "poem." It certainly leaves a gaping loophole for low-quality content to slide through.  Most poetry here is gawd awful, but maybe it generates enough ad impressions to justify its existence. If nothing else, HubPages' "poetry" is good for laughs.
   
   Unfortunately, the few good poets are vastly outnumbered by the bad, and there's no fair way to rate them.  From HP's point of view, there's no money in the poetry anyway, so why waste the money hiring qualified poetry raters.  It's better just to let anyone publish whatever garbage they call poetry and idle it.

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   1. 96

      Thomas Swanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      There may be some truth to what you're saying here. Even if few people want to hear it. Perhaps hubpages could make another site, or a subdomain on this site for everyone to upload poetry too? it would make quite a collection/anthology.

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   2. 0

      JThomp42posted 10 years agoin reply to this

      paxwill.... what makes you assume that all poetry is idled? I have written several poems an all of them are published.

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8. 82

   ketageposted 10 years ago

   I do not see why not, after all, Hubpages is for writers, and writing includes poetry. Whether the poem is good or not depends on the readers preferences, I write horrible poems, so I prefer not to torture the world at large. But I am sure there are some very good Poets out there, and if they are willing to share their works, all the better for us

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9. 65

   Dennis AuBuchonposted 10 years ago

   Poetry is writing like anything else and deserves the recognition by those who write them.  This venue and any others like Hubpages should not prevent poetry from being published.

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   1. 79

      LuisEGonzalezposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I don't think they have thought about preventing them or ever will, I just don't think that HP is the best venue for them.

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10. 41

    ChristinSposted 10 years ago

    I think poetry is wonderful, however this may not be the best venue for it, depending on what the author hopes to do with it.  If the author wants to make money on HP via ads etc.  Poetry isn't going to do that.  However, if one wants to develop a following or attract new readers, HubPages can help a great deal with that aspect of it - and also moral support from other writers. 
    
    I don't have the mind to write poetry, but if I did, I would probably share it on forums dedicated specifically for that art, and do some of the better selling stuff on hubpages, but everyone is different and has different goals and motivations.

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11. 0

    JThomp42posted 10 years ago

    Poetry for me is therapeutic. It is soothing and rewarding. I would not call myself a "poet." As I know I probably fall into that category of "Gawd awful" as paxwill has put it. No matter, I also love reading poetry. It is as you are really reading one's emotions instead of a hub on the specifics of a cell phone. Helpful, yes. Enjoyable, no.

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12. 65

    Tricia1000posted 10 years ago

    I love the poetry on HubPages and think they have a place here just like all the other topics hubbers write about.

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13. 79

    LuisEGonzalezposted 10 years ago

    I think that poetry is an excellent creative outlet. So far as HP, perhaps it is not the best site since poems compete with a vast array of other articles. I know of others who make their poems into E books and post them on Booktango/Smashwords and seem to do rather well.

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14. 0

    Justsilvieposted 10 years ago

    Their intro:
    
    HubPages is an open community of passionate people—writers, explorers, knowledge seekers, conversation starters. Interacting and informing. Sharing words, pictures and videos. Asking questions. Finding answers. It’s a rich and rewarding experience with a unique set of tools and resources to help Hubbers find and build an audience...
    
    Not everyone is here for the money! Even though their contribution and audience may be helping others earn some.
    
    So yes, I think poetry has its place! Whether it is good or bad is in the hearts of the reader. Most people who write poetry are not writing for accolades or money, they just have something to say and want to share it.

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15. 77

    Kathleen Cochranposted 10 years ago

    Poetry was a gateway drug for a lot of us writers when we were first getting started.  You had a feeling and you wanted to express it.  With poetry you could do that with a few well-selected words.  It gets you on to more challenging writing skills.  I'd hate to see it limited because the result would be too many writers who skip this developmental step in the writing process.

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16. 0

    Poetic Foolposted 10 years ago

    Well, it certainly belongs on HubPages as what we choose to write about is wide open with certain restrictions of course.  There certainly is an audience for it.  However, I wonder how long that will last as HubPages' creation of "idled hubs" soon replaced by "featured hubs" as left most poet's (and other creative writers) hubs de-indexed by Google.  This may have the effect of raising the quality of HP in Google's eyes but it only serves to lower traffic for individual hubbers and to drive them to other writing venues.  I know of a number that have pulled all there hubs and gone elsewhere.  It's a shame really because HP is still the best site of it's type around.

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17. 0

    calculus-geometryposted 10 years ago

    I used to be an editor and reader for a now defunct literary magazine.  To say that 5% of the submissions were publishable is being generous.  Just as anyone could submit to our magazine, so can anyone post their poetry on Hubpages and call themselves a poet.
    
    I wouldn't mind poetry on HubPages if there was an editorial team that judged the writing.  I don't really like this system where anyone can call anything they write a poem.  It does diminish the overall quality of the site, and it makes it harder for the truly talented creative writers to find an audience. Rejecting the bulk of submissions doesn't punish bad writers so much as it rewards the good writers.
    
    But if HP had an editorial team that rejected 95% of the poetry submissions, it would cause too many hurt feelings. HP would rather just hide the creative writing from search engines via the idle program than bruise the fragile egos  of people who are generating a lot of pageviews and ad impressions.  Business trumps artistic integrity.
    
    By the way, I love poetry and fiction -- I just like *good* writing. (I'm aware that many who read my math articles might say I'm glass house dweller throwing stones!)

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    1. 94

       davidlivermoreposted 10 years agoin reply to this

       This is the perfect answer.  I agree with this.

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18. 49

    jellohelloposted 10 years ago

    Here's my point of view as an occasional user of this site, not a contributor.  If I'm going to read poetry online, I'm going to visit a site that filters poetry submissions. Like an online lit mag that has a staff of editors and readers who sort through the slush pile to find poems worth publishing.  Screening is a tragically under-valued service! From what I've read of these comments, HubPages doesn't filter anything and anyone can post poems on their account, it's like one big slush pile.  I'll pass.

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19. 75

    tarkishatposted 10 years ago

    Absolutely poetry belongs here. I write poetry also, but I'm a little scared to share mine because poetry tends to be more on a personal level, so for right now I'm keeping them for myself.

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20. 0

    Rayne123posted 10 years ago

    Well I do not care either way, I love reading poetry and have quite a few on here myself.
    
    As for them being judged, I would love it if someone could judge my poems and give me honest insight to help me.

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21. 73

    ocfirefliesposted 10 years ago

    Poetry is subjective.  But is not art of any form?  In a world where the humanities seem to be regarded as something of an elective, I think it is nice that there is a place such as HubPages where self-expression is accepted, and somewhat encouraged.  As a neophyte,  I am new to how all the ins and outs work on this site.  Perhaps my opinion really does not count, but it is my hope that humans continue to express themselves and HP continues to provide a gallery in which to do so.

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22. 60

    Captial Bposted 9 years ago

    I actually am very new to HubPages, myself. Poetry is the only type of writing I am remotely good at and have been recognized for, but I won't call myself a poet. It's something I'm trying out. However, I do see your point. The amount of poems posted is daunting, and rather intimidating for me. I do feel Hubpages, though, makes up for this by letting us explore it other contents and becoming inspired to try other things. For example, I am working on some science based works. Besides, if your looking for a poem, you'll find a poem (or some deep analysis of one). If you want something else, then you have to choice of typing something else in the search.

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