- Have a complaint? Ask the moderators.
- Use of this website means you accept our Terms of use and RULES. DMCA compliant.
- Want to give someone points?
- You can remove some of your trophies.
- See a list of the moderators.
- Looking for a user? Use the search page, or in the bottom right sidebar.
- The current oldpoetry time is July 29 11:54PM. The 'end of day' is midnight CST
1 - 7 of 7
-
- Welcome! Help moderate?
We're always looking for people to help track down and add poems that are out of copyright.
Join the Moderators. Or if you're interested in discussing poems which are still in copyright, join the Friends of OP -
About Oldpoetry?
Oldpoetry is the name and also a description -- OLD Poetry.
This means as a rule poetry that has been written over 50 or more years ago and so has stood the test of time and also so it is out of copyright.
OK a few modern poets have been included but only those who are major league names such as Tupac and Plath and the like. Big names who already have been cited so much their work is almost public domain already.
We would like to think we are becoming the largest repostory of poetry on the web adn the most reliable.
What you as a reader can do is up to you.
You can read the poetry and comment of course.
OR
You might also want to do columns about particular Oldpoets or themes of Oldpoetry which you could submit via the link on the main page.
OR
You might want to contribute biographys for poets on the site who haven't got one yet.
OR
You might want to locate and submit poems not already on the site but that fit the criteria.
etc etc
Jump in there and enjoy the site. Maybe tell your friends by putting a link from your home page. Maybe run competitions about the oldpoets. Whatever, as long as you enjoy it. -
I WANT A SUMMARY
From time to time we are asked for a summary of a particular poem. Sometimes politely and sometimes impolitely and sometimes a summary is demanded.
As volunteers who spend our leisure time helping out here the moderators are already interested in poetry and are usually willing to help out - if we have the time - when someone makes a civil request. However we are unlikely to respond positively to demands, especially when it is clear that, if we responded, we would be doing someone's homework for them.
To save wasting your time and ours here are a few tips.
1. Read any poem notes already written.
2. Read the comments beneath the poem as the
desired summary is often already there.
3. Join the group. It's free and any responses to
your question will automatically appear as soon
as you log on next time. Remember the Research
Team do not send emails!
4. Be polite or we'll probably ignore you! -
Making A Comment
The pages on this site have spaces for comments and reading those comments can be helpful to people wishing to learn more about the poet or the poem. However there have to be some limits as to what is or is not acceptable in those comments.
INFORMATION
Useful facts and links on the poem / poet are encouraged as long as they are not simply a cover for self-promotion.
EVALUATION
It is good to read how a particular poet / poem has affected other readers especially where the response is linked to certain sections or aspects of the poem / poet. Simple "I hate this" or "He is fabulous" comments are not all that useful to other readers.
INTERPRETATION
Knowing how different people interpret the meaning of the same poem is interesting, especially when there are multiple interpretations. It is good to be able to read these types of comment even if we disagree with them. It is wrong to insult the writers of such comments just because their opinion is different to your own.
LANGUAGE
Comments should be phrased in diplomatic language. Profanity, gratuitous vulgarity and attacks on other readers is actively discouraged.
MEMORIES
Poems, more than most writing, can evoke many memories and it is sometimes pleasant to share these with other readers.
~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~
Pleae feel free to make comments where appropriate to share your opinions and ideas but bear in mind the above notes. The site moderators will remove comments that cross the boundaries and persistent offenders will be identified and banned from the site. -
Rules for Oldpoetry
http://oldpoetry.com/home/guide/rules
If you wish to read the rules of the site this link will take you there. -
Why are the poets Birth and Death dates sometimes omitted or marked as unknown.
When researching the biographical data for the poets shown here our researchers often come up with conflicting data and sometimes no data at all. In these cases it is better to omit the details rather than use the wrong ones. We will update those as and when the real dates are confirmed by competent sources.
However sometimes a modern poet who has only recently died (for our purposes that is since the middle of the last century) only has a birth date on the summary although the actual date is shown on the full biography page. This is because of the way the site was originally set-up. Changing the way the site copes with such things is on the to-do list but such changes may have a knock-on effect that needs to be carefully tested before making it fully operative. Please be patient. -
Why doesn't my comment show up straight away?
Comments by Oldpoetry members are automatically accepted by the site's computer and are added to those already displayed as the system refreshes the details. This automatic update does occur frequently but not always instantly so please be patient.
Comments by visiting guests of the site go into a seperate stack which are processed by the mods so as to minimise the risk of spamming and similar computer nonsense.
We do try to update these lists daily and with mods from at least three different continents (and time zones) that means three or more times a day but please be a little more patient with us. We will get round to it as soon as we can during each cycle.
This is another good reason to join Oldpoetry since the computer is faster than the mods
and of course it is free.
