A home for new poems

Most poetry online is buried in a feed built for something else, or sitting in a submissions queue that takes months and usually ends in silence. First Verse is the short version: write a poem, post it, and it's live. Readers can star it, follow you, and come back for the next one.

How it works

• Post a poem. No submissions queue, no reading fee. Each poem gets a quick automated check — for other people's work posted as your own, and for anything that would make the site unreadable — and then it publishes.
• Readers find it. New poems appear on the home page, and every poem gets its own page you can share anywhere.
• Build a following. Readers star the poems they like and follow the poets they want to hear from again.
• Get a private read. The Studio can give you a detailed craft evaluation of a poem — scored, specific, and never shown to anyone but you.
• Keep your work. Your poems stay yours. Edit them whenever you like, and if you ever delete your account they come down with it.

What else is on the site

Alongside poems by the people who write them, First Verse publishes a small number of public-domain classics worth rereading, and occasional poems written by AI. Both are labelled on the page. Nothing written by a machine is ever presented as somebody's own work, and nothing you write is ever presented as ours.

Tipping a poet

If a poem lands, you can put a dollar behind saying so. Poets add their own Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal handle, and the tip buttons on their poems and their poet page take you straight to them on that app — 100% of a tip goes to the poet. First Verse never holds the money and adds no fee.

Tips are anonymous. If you'd like the poet to be able to say thanks, you can leave an email when you tip — we pass one thank-you note along without ever showing them your address. Poets: set yours up on your account page.

Questions

Does it cost anything?

No. Reading is free and posting is free — there's no submission fee and no paywall on poems. A couple of optional extras are paid: additional craft evaluations in the Studio, and same-day publishing when a day is already full.

Do I keep the rights to my poems?

Yes. Posting here isn't a transfer of ownership — you keep the copyright, and you give us only the permission we need to show your poem on the site and link to it. The specifics are set out in our Terms, which are worth reading before you post.

How fast does a poem publish?

Usually within minutes. Your email has to be verified first, then automated checks run. If something looks off, a person takes a look before it goes public — we'll email you either way, and you can follow a poem's status any time in your Studio.

Can I edit a poem after posting it?

Yes. Open your poem while signed in as the poet who posted it. Editing a published poem sends it back through the same quick checks; it stays visible while that happens.

What do stars and follows do?

A star is a reader saying a poem landed. Following a poet means you want to keep up with them. Both need an account, so we know who's who — between them they're how readers tell poets their work was read.

Who can see my profile?

It's public by default, so readers can find your other poems. You can switch it to private from your profile page, and private profiles are kept off the Poets list.

Can I post a poem somebody else wrote?

No. First Verse is for your own writing. If you want to point readers at a poem published elsewhere, tell us through the form below — that's a feature we're weighing up, and it helps to know people want it.

How do I delete my account?

Go to your account and use Delete account in the Danger Zone. It clears your personal details and takes your poems down with it. It can't be undone.

I found a bug, or something looks wrong.

Please tell us — the form below goes to a person. Bug reports are genuinely welcome, especially with a link to the page where it happened.

Contact us

Questions, problems, or something you'd like to see? Send a note and we'll get back to you. A person reads every one.