Publishing Your Poetry

When you publish your poems, there are a couple of conventions to follow:

          Type your title at the top. Center it.

          Justify the rest of your text to the left.

          Start each line with a capital letter.

          If a line in your poem is longer than the width of the page, continue onto the next line and indent. Do not capitalize the indented part of the line.  Example:

The ocean shifts under the moonlit sky as the waves ripple and

      churn in white foam.

          If you want a pause after a line, put a comma or period.

          You may choose to break your poem into two or more verses with a space between, like the poem Swamp below.

          Choose a font that is easy to read. Use a font size of 12pt – 16pt.

          If you would like your poem to be in the center of the page, click File, Page Setup and then adjust the margins of the paper.

Swamp

                        Hovering over the hot, damp swamp,

                        A small, red bird swoops down on an insect

                        Light blue shades of atmosphere and smoldering

heat fill the air.

                        Whooping sounds of wild birds awaken the swamp

                        From its lazy midday dreams.

                        Sun fades away into the back pocket of earth.         

                        Spreading arms in all directions,

                        Inviting night into the sky

                        A little, red bird appears

                        Hovering over the swamp,

                        And swoops down

                        On an insect with illuminated wings.