What use is cyberspace to the poet or the student of poetry? Should you waken at midnight with a burning desire to read Shakespeare's sonnet 29, you don't have to make bootless cries at the closed library door; you merely switch on your Mac or PC and go to The Complete Works of Shakespeare. If your bout with insomnia convinces you that things are falling apart and the center isn't holding you can give the Yeats lament a second reading by clicking on the Virtual Irish Pub. (Unfortunately they serve only virtual Guinness.) For a few selected major British poets there is always English Poetry, but a graduate student doing his poetry thesis or a poetry professor scrambling for his latest publication is better served by just going to the library. The poetry listings, at least on the free services, are incomplete. Furthermore, the secondary sources that are essential to such scholarly tomes are not available.
Why poetry on the Net? Why poetry? Other than scholars, who bothers reading poems? People who love poetry (too few), or poets (even fewer); actually it's both. The poetry audience is unique in that most poetry lovers are also poetry writers. The Internet is growing and so is the number of poets who are trying to see their own verse flashed among the pixels. For them there is good news and bad news.
The good news is that literary e-zines are generally far more receptive to unsolicited submissions than the print journals, at least up to now. Print journals are usually deluged by submissions, so an unsolicited manuscript is given a very quick look and usually returned in the next day's mail. Many Net e-zines not only invite submissions, but are hungry for them. The zines cover every taste, from formal iambic pentameter to free verse. Another advantage over the print press is a greater possibility of direct reader feedback to the poet. If the poet wants, his email address is usually given.
There is no way I could furnish a complete list of all the zines out there. Not even the databases dedicated to listing these sources can do that. I will provide a small sampling of the zines I have come across. Makar has a nice layout with separate pages for individual poets. Email can be sent directly to the poet by simply clicking the address. Sour Grapes On-line Literary Magazine also has nice graphics. Should you want to try overseas, then The Richmond Review, a handsome English publication, might be worth a try, and you don't have to worry about international reply coupons! Another interesting English publication is Snakeskin; I've seen both formal and free verse published there. Ygdrasil doesn't have as elaborate graphics but is still eye-catching. So it goes is open to submissions. Not all of these online publications are literary, though. Some have other agendas, such as Zinograffiti, a Christian publication that accepts some religious poetry. Jstarr has an interesting concept. Just submit and you get a page on the Web!
Note that I make no comment on the quality of the poetry found in these zines. The last thing the poetry world needs is another pompous, pontificating ass passing off his half-baked opinions as objective standards. You, the reader, are the only qualified judge of quality. There is a wide range of styles and themes out there. If you find that one poem that inspires you to write one of your own, then the hours of searching are worth the effort.
Some poets seek real interaction with other poets. There is The Living Poet's Society and the Albany Adult Poetry Workshop. I have discovered that sometimes you can establish your own email workshop with other poets. If you like a poem, email the poet. Occasionally a dialogue results which eventually may include other poets with similar aesthetic sensibilities. Presto, a workshop! Even if no sustained contact results, it's always good to encourage fellow poets; we get so little encouragement from the public.
I have mentioned some zines, but you will want to compile your own list. There are many search tools available. For the searchable data bases the key words, for the poet who is searching for publishing vehicles, is "zine" or "poetry" or both. John Labovitz's E-zine list is quite extensive. Not all of the zines listed are poetry zines or even literary ones, but a data search program has recently been added, so just use the key words and you're on your way. Browse the Listing is a data base that's growing larger every week. A brief description of each listing is provided so you can tell at a glance whether or not they take poetry, and if so, what kind. The blurbs are real time-savers. Other vehicles for finding a place for your work are: ELECTRONIC POETRY CENTER, GRIST ON LINE, MAGELLAN DATA BASE, and YAHOO ARTS LITERATURE POETRY. You can try any of the other data bases such as Lycos or Web Crawler for more possible listings; just remember the key words are zine and poetry. Most zines furnish their own links which allow you to hop through the literary cyber-pond like an erudite Kermit.
Now the downside to Internet poetry publishing. (Yes, there's always a downside.) There's no money in it. The only zine I've come across that pays anything at all is THE RECURSIVE ANGEL, and it isn't much—about four dollars for twenty-five lines. But there's no money in poetry in paper publishing either, unless you're a literary luminary. Though you save on postage using email, online fees can mount up. If you're using the Internet as a pathway to publishing, then you are a heavy user. It will take you at least 15 minutes to examine each zine. This adds up, especially if you subscribe to the better-known Internet providers that give little or no discount for volume use. I strongly recommend using a service that charges a high up-front monthly or yearly fee, but allows you unlimited time. You'll come out ahead. As a pleasant aside, the lack of money lowers the odds of plagiarism. There is always that possibility, but if there's no profit, the possibility is low.
The results of Web publishing can be disappointing. Unless you print out your work there is nothing tangible in your hands to keep. The next month or quarter, when the zine lists its new works, you have nothing really to point to. Though theoretically you receive a wider exposure via the Internet than via the small poetry presses, you are never sure how many out there have actually clicked on to your work. Don't expect a deluge of email praising or damning your work. You'll probably get some replies, but far, far, more users are clicking on to the adult or financial home pages than are reading poetry. Cherish what positive feedback you receive and take the trouble to return positive comments, if you think a particular poet merits it. Some of the more prestigious literary magazines are venturing online. The Paris Review has a Web page with a sampling of its work, but it doesn't accept electronic submissions. Whether online or in print, acceptance by the more well- known publications is difficult. They receive thousands of submissions; yours would be just one among the many.
Despite these negatives, the Web offers poets, not normally known for their affinity for technology, the opportunity to become pioneers in the newest technological communication. It's worth blazing this less traveled electronic path.