Wednesday, April 13, 2011

A Home for my Poems


I've got something to celebrate today! Poem no. 200 just went up on my poetry website, and I'm feeling pretty good about that.

The idea of going online with my stuff occurred to me a couple of years ago. Too much of the poetry I had written was sitting around in drawers and notebooks, taking up space and not getting used. Even the ones published in magazines and literary journals weren't that widely distributed. What's more, when people asked me for copies of poems they had read or heard before, I had to sort through various files, piles, or even my computer to come up with it. (Sometimes I never did find the one they wanted.)

With that in mind, I resolved to make some changes, though my husband was uncomfortable with the idea of putting intellectual property up there for anyone to see. He worried about plagiarism, but I decided to just copyright the website and hope for the best. Hey, if some high school kid is presenting my poetry as his own, that's his problem, right? Besides, my sister (an English teacher) tells me that when something suspicious shows up on a teacher's desk, that teacher is savvy enough these days to google a few lines and see what comes up!

But I digress. The first design was my own, but I soon replaced it with a more professional look that is still casual enough to suit me. Not knowing much about search engine optimization, I'm happy to say that the site, over time, has become one that enjoys a lot of visitors. I like knowing that a number of them are teachers and students, but the demographic profile of visitors is diverse. I am frequently asked for the use of a poem to grace a lesson, church talk, gift plaque, calligraphy project, or the like. I don't charge for the use of my poems unless that use is commercial. They are free (on the condition that copyright information is included, of course) for any non-commercial use.

It gives me pleasure to know that the poems are out there making a life for themselves instead of being cooped up here at home. If you haven't already, please visit sometime and let me know what you think...especially if you have any suggestions for improvement. I'm always up for a fresh perspective!

Happy 200th poem to susannoyesandersonpoems.com! (and its poet...heehee)

;)


23 comments:

Momza said...

Congratulations, Sue! Your talent is obvious and much-loved!

Julie said...

I had no idea. Now I have lots of good reading to do. Congratulations!

Grandma Honey said...

How nice to have them all organized and assessable. The site looks so nice, and professional. Love especially the last line of that poem: "Charity is love with wings."

Joy For Your Journey said...

Congratulations on your 200th poem! It is sweet and beautiful--and will probably grace many lessons on the topic. Thanks so much for sharing all your poems with us.

jen said...

I think you've entered the "prolific" stage now--over 1000 posts between both blogs? Congrats.

lesa said...

I had no idea, either.

Congrats!

Jess said...

Congratulations on your 200th poem. You really have an amazing gift.

Lisa Loo said...

Congrats!!!!

SarahMarie said...

How cool! My poems are just sitting around, I should look at you as inspiration to make a place to keep them! The site is lovely.

Darlene said...

Funny you should do your blog today on your poems. Funny because I was just starting to look for a poem I could read for my talk on Easter Sunday. I have to do a short talk and was looking for one of your Easter poems. So I'm on my way to find one.

Darlene said...

Yeh! I found a great one. Now I just have to decide whether to use the one in your poetry site or to use the one in the Easter book that you wrote for Jeremiah, Carli and Bryce. They are both so good and I only have five minutes to talk. They are having me instead of a youth speaker (going from the sublime to the rediculous) and I honestly think it is harder to give a five minute talk than it is to give a ten or fifteen minute one. I'll let you know how it turned out and which one I used. Do you know that Easter is the day after my 84th birthday? Wow! I'm really getting up there.

Stef said...

That is a lot of poems. And knowing you they are all amazing. What is it like to have so much talent? Just curious.

Jocelyn Christensen said...

200 poems and amazing each one of them...Great job!

Wendy said...

Sue there is a website that you can print your blog into a book. I know that is a little old fashioned but it is always nice to have a hard copy. Just in case. http://blog2print.sharedbook.com/blogworld/printmyblog/index.html

Em said...

Hooray!!! Congrats!:) I love getting organized with tasks I've been wanting to organize for a long period of time.

People Who Know Me Would Say: said...

YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY! I love your site and your poetry....but I also love everything else you write.

God gave you a gift and you do Him proud each time you use it...because your gift is an expression of your heart.

I'm a huge fan and very proud of you!!

anitamombanita said...

Congrats Sue, that's quite a feat...and an amazing collection.

FYI - if you ever need/want photos, I have over 12,000 on my flickr site which you are welcome to use. Maybe we should do another book, eh?! ;)

Love ya.

Rachael West said...

I love poetry - headed to your other site now. Thanks for commenting so I could find your blog!

Caroline said...

Congratulations, Sue! I am going to go over to your poetry site right now. I have visited before, but it's been awhile. Thank you for sharing your gift with us all!

Brian Miller said...

nice. i popped over earlier today and read through a few...very nice sue...

Pearl Maple said...

How cool to have a web site devoted to your writing
Happy Easter to you and thanks for your kind comments on my post earlier

Tonya said...

I loved finding this the other day. I will visit there often in the coming days. Thank you!!

Amy said...

I am so happy that you are getting the recognition you sought. You truly are talented, and you deserve it. :)