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Influx Of New Poets

Blog Posted by Tom Woody: 10/19/2025 4:44:00 PM

Well slap my knee and jump for joy got a clean bill of health from ol' doc McCoy! Okay, that was a paraphrase from a Star Trek OS line. No plagiarism intended. Hey, I think it's so cool there seems to be a plethora of new poets on da Soup. True, a handful may be utilizing AI to write or enhance their poetry (yawn). But most are writing from their heads and hearts and deserve unwavering support. Sadly, their poems get few or no comments. How discouraging that can be :( In the past, I've made the argument that the vast majority of poets who post publicly want to be read, commented on and even faved. Therefore, to the newbs I give this advice: correspond, correspond, correspond! Write a blog. Enter contests. Get your name out there. To the seasoned PSers I offer this counsel: regularly check the new poets list and spend time welcoming these folks. Branch out beyond your small group of pals and embrace diversity and eclecticism. A community grows and thrives when communication flows freely. Enjoy the fresh voices and welcome the changes meant to enhance the experience of being a Poetry Soup poet - The Tomster PS. If you'd like, give a shout out to a newb you've really come to appreciate. Mine is Anne Winter. She's an awesome poet and generous in her comments. Why not pay her page a visit this coming week?

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Valsa
George

Date: 10/23/2025 8:22:00 AM

Great suggestion dear Tom. Encouragement goes a long way in boosting the confidence of poets, especially of the newbies.

Tom Woody
Date: 10/23/2025 3:17:00 PM

Right on Valsa

Tom
Woody

Date: 10/21/2025 6:54:00 PM

Two other new-ish poets worth checking out - Crystol Woods and Benjamin Bartley. Crystol wears her heart on her sleeve and the emotions really come through. Ben is one of the quirkiest writers on PS, which makes a visit to his page fun. Check them out this week!

Suzette
Richards

Date: 10/21/2025 7:50:00 AM

To comment, or not to comment - that is the question. We have worn a mote around this fortress already, Tom. Some people go that tad bit too far and actually annoy the newbies. My contests and blogs are how I chose to interact with others on here as my time is very limited and the internet availability is not always guaranteed. I welcome fresh poetic voices, especially in the contests - but abhore plagiarised work amongst some new accounts. Just like AI, it is just recycled words and stale ideas... Otherwise, your call for action is sound.

Suzette Richards
Date: 10/21/2025 9:44:00 AM

I get it, Tom. Or have time to write for contests instead of posting 10 AI-generated poems a day. We are a mix bag of tricks and talents - a bit like trail mix (something for everyone's taste).

Tom Woody
Date: 10/21/2025 9:38:00 AM

I guess the way I look at it if a poet has time to post umpteen poems per month they should have at least a little time to encourage others. Anyway, thanks for chipping in

Riley
Emerson

Date: 10/20/2025 9:47:00 AM

Why didn't I know this when I joined in June? Thank you for the advice anyway. I'll try to comment more. I don't write much either in poems or comments... Haven't got much to say...

Tom Woody
Date: 10/20/2025 9:49:00 AM

It's simple really. If you appreciate fellow poets taking the time to read and comment on your poetry, isn't it logical they'd enjoy your sincere visits as well?

Sara
Etgen-Baker

Date: 10/20/2025 6:03:00 AM

good advice...be engaged

Brandy Nicole
Date: 10/20/2025 5:05:00 PM

You're so kind and understanding, Sara. Always uplifting others. : )

Tom Woody
Date: 10/20/2025 9:41:00 AM

You're usually at or near the top of the community list. As long as we're all keeping it real

Anne
Winter

Date: 10/20/2025 5:11:00 AM

Dearest Tom, thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me. I feel so honoured. I'm truly grateful for all the love I have received as a poet on PS. Best, Anne

CayCay Jennings
Date: 10/21/2025 5:24:00 PM

Anne, you do rock a pen. I love your work and nature. CayCay

Brandy Nicole
Date: 10/20/2025 5:06:00 PM

Your kindness doesn't go unnoticed, Anne. I appreciate you and your friendship. : )

Tom Woody
Date: 10/20/2025 5:23:00 AM

You get what you give, and you do give generously Anne. You've learned the simple formula for success

Beej
Simrov

Date: 10/20/2025 4:50:00 AM

This is very thoughtful Tom, way to get the community going. And as Rob said below, your activity and engagement is admirable. I feel like it could be easier to comment if there were threaded comments, which would allow for conversation to flow rather than end abruptly after the first comment. OR a revamp of “The Wall”, which could benefit from being housed on this site rather than facebook, more interactive, and would provide the option for people go give shoutouts (kind of a less formal, collapsed string version of this). Anyways I am blabbering, but thank you for being you.

Beej Simrov
Date: 10/21/2025 9:22:00 AM

Good to know, Tom, and same to you, Brandy! I also noticed that I didn’t get any notification of either of your replies to this, and there is no option to reply to your comments individually, so I have to essentially respond to myself to keep the conversation, not know whether you’ll even see that I responded lol. That’s what I was sort of getting at.

Brandy Nicole
Date: 10/20/2025 5:10:00 PM

Your thoughts are always welcomed, Beej.

Tom Woody
Date: 10/20/2025 5:00:00 AM

Actually, comment threads on a poem can go as high as ten before they start self deleting. I've had many brief conversations that way. For example, check out the thread under Paige comment in my poem - My moment of clarity

Rob
Carmack

Date: 10/20/2025 4:00:00 AM

We have plenty of prolific writers, but we need more prolific commentors like you. Imagine if everyone submitted 5 comments for every poem they wrote.

Rob Carmack
Date: 10/25/2025 12:23:00 PM

Richard - I see that. I like your quote "You too can have a toucan."

Richard D Seal
Date: 10/25/2025 7:29:00 AM

Same here Rob,

Rob Carmack
Date: 10/25/2025 7:02:00 AM

Brandy - for me, it tends to be 10 days before I am mostly satisfied with a poem. Looking back at all my poems, there always seems to be at least one part which I regret not spending more time on.

Brandy Nicole
Date: 10/24/2025 5:29:00 PM

As evening falls, I have more time to linger in rhyme. Many have time to post a poem a day, maybe more, but that's not me. I'm so thankful that I'm able to post as often as I can. Sharing thoughts between days is really a good thing.

Rob Carmack
Date: 10/24/2025 7:29:00 AM

(Tom) These prolifics could be useful. Admin could charge them a 'Database Burden' tax. Admin would pocket most of that and use the remaining to provide a 'Community Builder' monetary reward for those that comment the most. [mic drop]

Tom Woody
Date: 10/24/2025 4:37:00 AM

I've recommended it many times Rob. Admins even changed it from ten to five, though it goes unenforced. Some still uploading ten a day. Virtually all of them go unread and zero comments. Can you imagine one of the Greats, say Poe, posting 300 poems each month? Tis sad, tis sad

Rob Carmack
Date: 10/23/2025 7:53:00 AM

John - another reason to cap uploads.

Richard D Seal
Date: 10/22/2025 10:35:00 AM

That’s one way to slow down the merry-go-round

John Lawless
Date: 10/22/2025 5:41:00 AM

that would mean that some would have to post 50....count'em...50 comments a day

Rob Carmack
Date: 10/21/2025 3:18:00 AM

Brandy - Time is a big factor, that is why Tom's response to Riley above is good advice. When my time is limited, I usually comment on others who comment on my poems.

Brandy Nicole
Date: 10/20/2025 5:13:00 PM

Time and moments in life make it difficult for me to comment as much as I would like, but I enjoy being here as much as I can. Always happy to be around those that uplift and encourage. : )

Tom Woody
Date: 10/20/2025 4:34:00 AM

What I find is that for every ten comments I put out I might get two or three replies back, pretty sad. Still, I want to encourage if I can, if nothing else with a little humor

Brandy
Nicole

Date: 10/19/2025 6:45:00 PM

So sweet of you to post this blog, Tommy. Anne Winter is a new poet friend of mine and I have recently commented on the poetry of Mickey Grubb. I received a comment from Rachel Steinmetz. I will check out her work soon. : )

Tom Woody
Date: 10/19/2025 7:11:00 PM

Yes Mickey is an awesome fellow to correspond with. Thx for chipping in

Paige
Hind

Date: 10/19/2025 5:40:00 PM

I like Rachel Steinmetz and Wendy Martinez. :)

Paige Hind
Date: 10/19/2025 6:19:00 PM

Yup. You're welcome. :)

Tom Woody
Date: 10/19/2025 5:48:00 PM

I've visited Rachel I'll have to look up Wendy. Thx for the tip!

Paige Hind
Date: 10/19/2025 5:42:00 PM

Windy* I think