About us
A Safe, Creative, Free Platform for Poets
Power Poetry is the largest online poetry platform for young and young-at-heart poets. Founded in 2011 by documentary filmmaker and educator Roland Legiardi-Laura, we believe that everyone has a voice worth hearing — and that writing poetry is one of the most powerful ways to find it.
We are home to over 544,000 poets and more than 526,000 poems. From first-time writers to published authors, our community spans every background, age, and experience level. If you have something to say, this is the place to say it.
What We Do
Power Poetry is — and always will be — free. No paywalls, no premium tiers, no ads. We exist because we believe creative expression should never cost anything.
Write and Share
Our poem editor makes it easy to write, tag, and publish your work instantly. Every poem gets an AI-powered voice analysis that maps your writing style across seven dimensions — helping you understand your own creative identity.
Action Guides & Writing Tips
Our 10 Action Guides and 105+ Writing Tips are written by youth for youth. They cover everything from slam poetry tips to writing about civil rights to poetry about body image. Each guide links directly to the write page so you can go from learning to creating in one click.
Poetry Slams
Our digital slams are themed writing challenges where poets submit their best work on topics that matter — from climate change to gun control to racial justice. Over the years, we have hosted 75 slams with thousands of submissions.
Emerging Poets Collection
Every year, we run the Annual Emerging Poets Slam for poets 17 and under. The best poems are published as an anthology, available free on Amazon. Six collections have been published since 2017.
Groups
Teachers can create private classroom groups with join codes, where students submit poems for review before they go live. Independent poets can start public groups around any theme.
Safe and Welcoming
Power Poetry is committed to being a safe space. Poems are automatically screened for harmful content. Flagged content is held for admin review. Users can report any poem, comment, or group. We use spam detection, rate limiting, and community guidelines to keep the platform welcoming for writers of all ages — especially teens and young adults. We do not sell data, run ads, or track our users for profit.
Our Story
Power Poetry was created by Roland Legiardi-Laura, a documentary filmmaker and schoolteacher from the Bronx. After decades of watching young people transform through spoken word and creative writing, he built Power Poetry to give that experience to anyone with an internet connection. The platform launched in 2011 and has been free and open ever since.
Today, Power Poetry is built and maintained by Whole Whale, a digital agency that leverages data and technology to increase the impact of nonprofits.
Power Poetry relies on the generous support of grants such as Google. Learn more about how you can support us by reaching out to [email protected].
Join Us
We are a safe, creative, free platform built for young poets aged 13–25. If you have words inside you, this is the place to share them.