INVITATION

Paper Poetry — Starting Journey

An invitation to the Readers and Writers

PNG image source (free) from Pixabay, illustration, and words by Suntonu Bhadra

Hi everyone,

I am thrilled to introduce ‘Paper Poetry’ to readers and writers. This note invites respected poets to present their amazing poetic forms to the world but with the inclusion of a handwritten version of the poetry or, at least, some artistic form (drawing/designs/artistry on paper that complements the content).

I believe some of us write poetry in papers in some form (full content or part of it, keywords, themes, etc.). We can present the materials in their original craft, and the behind work for the poetry work through this publication. It is not about offering a new format or style but about showcasing the effort and dedication behind poetry.

Handwritten notes are disappearing day by day due to technological advancement, and it is the requirement and evolution we all are embedding in our life. But somehow, I still believe that handwritten words have a different significance to the readers and writers. And that is one of the main reasons to inaugurate ‘Paper Poetry.’

Another benefit you might be getting out of these is that you could reach out to other social media (Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr) in a differentiated way with the snapshot of the paper format. Along with the words, sometimes a difference in presenting the content might help us reach a diverse range of readers, which is essential for poetry content.

Formats

Any poetry content (followed by Medium guide and rules), along with a snapshot of the handwritten paper note
Poetry content with hand-drawn designs or themes with the poetry title that goes with the poetry
You can add design, edit the snapshot of the paper note to add to your content or add the poetry note snapshot (as your title photo or addition at the end).

In summary, your content will require to have any of the following to be considered for submission: a) handwritten part of the content; b) drawing (by the writer); c) doodle (by the writer). No exceptions. Canva imposed artificial fonts are not accepted. You can have a title image without written words or drawing or doodle, but you have to add one of those at any part of your content.`

Paper Poetry’s updated guidelines

📢 2020

Update 1. August 17, 2020 Please do not provide any signature/sign in the poetry content when submitting the content. You can mark with your ‘initials’ or ‘poet nickname’ (if any). Added on October 23, 2020, on the same note: However, if you would like to include a signature to mark and protect your work, you have the option to do it.

Update 2. August 20, 2020 If the content is more than 200 characters or 40 words, please add the poetry words on the Medium page, along with the paper note. It will be helpful to check the grammatical parts. If it is less than that (less than 200 characters or 40 words), then it is not mandatory to add the words to the Medium page. Meaning you may add the paper note/handwritten note as the only content if you wish.

Update 3. August 22, 2020 If your content is based on others’ work or highlighting others’ work (either in article form or poetry form), please mention the related sources. Also, please do not forget to mention the highlighted content reference and the purpose of your work (highlighting/ promoting the work, analysis of the work, etc.).

The editor has the right to edit your content if deemed reasonable. However, for ‘poetry’ content, if the issues are minor — we will inform you of those whether we can correct it or not. If the content requires more fixes, we will notify you to revise the content. For article contents, if the issues are grammatical, the editor/s will have the right to make corrections.

As an editor, I’m learning from the interactions and editing. So, please be patient in regard to the editing discussion. I take the help of Grammarly and Hemingway Editor, so the suggestions I will put or the request I will make in the private notes will be based on that. However, those are not perfect too. Any words and content from the poet or writers are their expressions, so if you want to publish the exact words you intended to put, please let me know on the notes, and I will keep it that way.

Update 4. August 27, 2020 To reach out to more readers and writers, I might be sharing your ‘published content Medium links’ on other platforms (Facebook and Twitter). If you think that it is not required for your content, please mention it in a private note on the content, and I will act accordingly.

Update 5. September 14, 2020 If you want to share or highlight any other writers work or content (renowned local poet, Nobel laureate, etc.) in the form of translation or to write an article, please include the following:

* mention that it is published content of the ‘writer’s name,’ and the content is a work of translation or highlighting the writer’s work

* if there is a link available for the writer’s bio or work (a Wikipedia link will also work), please include that

* Please check that the translated work or content doesn’t have plagiarised content; if the translated words or content is similar to other websites, we have to decline the submission. The best way to discover whether the content is identical is to check the words in online tools such as Grammarly.

📢 2021

Update 7. January 6, 2021 Short Form is acceptable and is now in a separate tab. Please add the tag, ‘Short Form’ while submitting.

Update 8. June 14, 2021 We are currently accepting the new content only. Please do not submit any previously published content (in other publications or self-published).

📢 2022 (Latest)

👉 Update 9. January 28, 2022 We are currently accepting poems/poetry and notes with digital artwork and writing, either digitally drawn or created by the author. That means, along with submitting handwritten notes on paper, or drawing pictures on paper, you can also submit digital scribbling or digitally created artwork with your submission. However, please do not submit a photo taken from your cell phone or camera to replace handwritten/drawing/digitally created artwork.

Meaning if your content doesn’t include at least one of the following (handwritten notes, drawn arts or designs on paper, or digitally created artwork and notes), we will not accept the content.

👉 Update 9. January 28, 2022 Clarification, you can add a SoundCloud link, or YouTube Link of your recitation with your poem, if you want. There was no restriction on this from the beginning, but I wanted to clarify it here.

Who can write for us?

Poets/Authors/Writers publishing their poetry content on Medium and other platforms are requested to join the journey.

Photo by Mike Tinnion on Unsplash, illustrated by the author

How to publish a content

Step 1: If you are not yet a contributor for Paper Poetry, comment in the comment box to add you as a writer, and I will add you first.

Update January 3, 2021: If you are new to Medium and haven’t written any story yet, send me a draft you want to publish to [email protected]; we will review the content and let you know.

Step 2: Write the content in Paper/notes/diary/notebook/newspaper or papyrus, take a snap of the content, add the words in ‘new story,’ add the snapshot (or, if you want, edit the content in whatever form you wish) and prepare the draft.

Step 3: Click the ‘…’ (three dots) beside the Publish button once your content is ready to be published.

Main site: Medium, the image was created for illustration purposes

Step 4: Click on the ‘Paper Poetry’ circle and click ‘Select and continue.’

Step 5: Add relevant tags and click ‘Submit to publication.’

Main site: Medium, the image created for illustration purposes

Publishing your stories

Your story will get published within 48 hours if written under Medium Curation Guidelines and our mentioned formats.

Thanks for reading. And welcome to ‘Paper Poetry.’