Hey PH, I built First Verse because I was tired of submitting my poems and not hearing back for months, and because I was really frustrated by the UX on poetry boards. So this is a place to post your work and get feedback quickly from real people; not from poetry teachers, but from readers. And if you're a reader you can check out new poems every day on the site or get them in your inbox. The goal is for this to become a supportive and constructive community; so comments are gated for a few days to prevent negativity (nod to the old PH days) and you can tip poets directly without fees (we get none of the money). **A few other points you might want to know:** - Post a poem in minutes. No reading fee, no months-long wait. Every poem is checked for safety and authenticity. If it's safe for everyone and genuinely yours, it publishes quickly. - Build a following. Readers star the poems they love and follow poets they want to hear from again. Every poem gets its own page, and you get your own custom poet profile page. - Get a private craft evaluation of your poem: scored, specific, and never shown to anyone but you. It's not perfect, but so far it is directionally helpful/interesting and we'll keep improving it. - Tips go to the poet. 100% of them. We never handle the money or add a fee. - Your poems stay yours. You keep the copyright, and nothing you write is used to train AI. - Reading is free and posting is free. Thanks so much for checking it out!! 💖

First Verse

The best new poems, written by real people

The best new poems, written by real people