Young-ish poets?

i was surfing the net and came across this site, im 22 and i have been writing poems from many years and i wanted to know how i can develop my passion from here. is it best to submit poems on different websites etc i am keen but sensitive about my work. any suggestions please!! [%sig%]

AK - post them on here and see what response you get! You won't get better until you share with others and this is, by and large, a warm, welcoming and encouraging writing community.

Hi, Mark I have recently come across 'the prawn season' by Paul Bavister, which I really enjoyed, and also 'Tideway' by Jane Draycott. Both poets are published by two rivers press, based in Reading, and I rate the publishers very highly. 'The Ice Age' by Paul Farley, which won the Whitbread Poetry Award in 2002 is also worth looking out for, as is 'The Asylum Dance' by John Burnside. I keep going back to 'The Asylum Dance' - I think it is absolutely awesome. All the best, Tony Dickens

Clare Pollard was at my school, and David is right.. her stuff is top notch.. her second collection 'Bedtime' is definitely worth a look. Paul Farley's first collection is great too.. 'The Boy From the Chemist is Here to See You' [%sig%]

have found the Poetry Book Society where you can buy all sorts of contemporary stuff online ... seems a far better selection than i have seen in any bookshop ... my tip is to buy some really good anthologies such as Emergency Kit (ed. matthew sweeney and jo shapcott i think) and this will give a taste ... there's a really good bloodaxe anthology too but i cant think of the name of it at the mo ... will come back to you ...

The Forward Book Of Poetry, published annually is also a pretty good anthology of prize winning work. Penguin have a range of 'Modern Poets' anthologies featuring three poets per book, though I'm not sure how up-to-date they are.

Hmm... does young-ish imply exciting? Not accusing you of ageism or anything, but established veterans are just as capable of producing entertaining, witty poetry, sometimes more so, given their experience. I just finished an anthology called 'Staying Alive' from Bloodaxe (surprisingly). The spiel surrounding it's pretty hackneyed but there's a fantastic mix of famous and more obscure twentieth-century poetry. You should scour the abctales archives too! I'm sure there are a few budding poets on here whose work is available in book or pamphlet form.

Sad to say I know loads of very good young poets but none of them have their work in bookshops. It's very very difficult to get a first collection published and if you do, it's even more difficult to get it to sell afterwards. Clare Pollard, who's work I really like, had a new book out from Bloodaxe recently, although it got panned in the reviews I read. She's about 22. Patience Agbabi is in her 30s but I think she's fresh and exciting.

Ramona Herdman is stunning, I saw her read at a gig in Norwich, she was from the uea MA I think. Pen & Inc publish her first book fairly soon I think as well.

I'm reading 'Staying Alive' (Bloodaxe) which i really like too.