On Writing

"No one expects a man to make a chair without first learning how, but there is a popular impression that the poet is born, not made..."

-Amy Lowell

There are more than 400 essays and interviews on Poets.org, and many of them deal with the writing process. Read prose pieces that discuss poetic techniques, interviews about the writing life, and browse our glossaries of poetic terms and concepts.

Read our Publishing FAQ, which provides reading resources for the budding poet and answers questions abouts where to submit your poems, what poetry scams to be wary of, and where to get good feedback on your work.

The Academy of American Poets provides the most important collection of awards for poetry in the United States. Awards are available for poets at every level in their careers, from first-book prizes to lifetime achievement awards. Guidelines, entry forms, and lists of winners are available online.

Launched in 1996, American Poet is the Academy's biannual journal. The publication includes essays and interviews on writing craft, and each issue features a "manuscript study" that analyzes the process by which a poem came into being.