There has been a lot of debate about what constitutes poetry, Poets verses Poets to some extent.  Except poetry can be many different things to many different people.  As far as my own personal thoughts... poetry does not have a specific definition, but many different definitions.

Here at In The Company of Poets we invite a variety of poetic styles, art forms; and even presentation styles, from Slam, to prose, rhyme and rhythm, drama, and even comedy.  In other words, we would like to review your interpretations, your personal language, and your inner most thoughts and feelings.  Because to us, that is what poetry is all about, and how the individual listener or viewer interprets the piece.  How they feel about the language, the literary composition.  It's about the individuals  attempt at understanding the piece.

What is aesthetically beautiful to one person, may not be to the next, but isn’t that what it’s all about?  Creating something that is personal to you, that arouses emotions and thought, and that touches someone else.  Each poem is unique to the person creating the words, and we may never know the true meaning behind the words without actually asking the author.

Through the years, since the inception of In The Company of Poets Magazine, I have had the chance to meet hundreds and hundreds of poets, and skim through that many more collections of poetry and verse, and I have been touched by so many.  We would love to see your submissions as well.

 
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I’ve been writing all my life... poetry, short stories, essays, children’s stories, and more.  It was back in the early 1990s when I was really into my passion for poetry and I began publishing In The Company of Poets Magazine.  I was so excited.  At the time, I followed some of the greats like Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Gwendolyn Brooks, Alice Walker; and of course poets like Robert Hayden, Paul Dunbar, and Langston Hughes.  


Along with the magazine I began hosting poetry competitions.  “The Poetry Joust” became extremely popular in the bay area.  Poets from around the bay attended to attempt to win the $1000 grand prize offering.  Dr. Julia Hare and Dr. Nathan Hare were two of my first participating judges, and I was thrilled when Maya Angelou endorsed the magazine and suggested I contact her son Guy Johnson, who was local to the bay area to appear in the publication.  



The magazine grew incredibly fast, faster than I could keep up.  Submissions came from everywhere; and included places such as China, Guam, Africa, Australia, London, and throughout the United States.  It was a wonderful time for me.  Alas, many things in my life changes, and I was no longer able to continue the magazine, so the opportunity to bring the magazine to an electronic forum, in the form of a television show, is equally exciting to me, offering new opportunities, a new platform, and the introduction of new voices.  I’d like to extend an invitation to poets, writers, spoken word artist and storytellers locally to be a guest on our show; and also welcome your video submissions and links for highlighting on our website.