What is Unsung Poets?

I heard a man on NPR discussing poetry a few weeks ago and he had concluded that poetry was dead. I am trying not to believe him because poetry is part of me. But the more I look into contemporary poetry, the more difficult it is to deny that the man on NPR might be right. Poetry may very well have died. The only poetry I hear or read these days is garbage. Sure, there are some brilliant lights in the darkness, but they are few and far between. I hear what the man is saying, but I'm struggling against it. I want poetry to be alive. I want desperately for poetry to still be beautiful, poignant, and relevant, and I think it still is. I think good poetry is very much alive, but it's beauty, its relevance, is being stifled and drowned out by the marketable garbage that's out there. I think good poetry still exists, and this blog is my attempt to bring it to light.

That's where you come in. My suspicion is that there are people out there writing good poetry. This blog is the net I hope to catch them in. If you enjoy poetry, I hope you'll enjoy reading what you find here. If you write quality poetry, send it my way. I will personally review all the poems that are sent and post the good poems on this blog. My hope is that by editing out the garbage, we can show the world that poetry is very much alive. Don't worry, I will credit every author, and will not claim any ownership over anything submitted. Everything sent into me will be forgotten, or posted and credited. Authors will retain all copyrights to their own work.

I know this editing process entails subjecting every poem to my personal opinion. I recognize this fatal flaw in the process and hope to change it eventually. Until this thing catches on however, I'm not sure it makes much sense to drag other people into the mess with me. If this idea catches on, we'll be more democratic about the way poems are selected. For now, send your work on to unsungpoets@gmail.com and I'll try my best to be a discerning ear.

Till then.