What is a poem?

Poems are on pages, and on the stage. They might be the nursery rhyme your granny used to sing you, or lyrics by a chart-topping rapper. Does a line of graffiti on the station wall make you think? Is it poetry? Riddles can be poems, and prayers can be poems. A three line haiku about an urban fox and a hundred-line ballad about maritime history are poems. There is poetry in football chants and street signs, family sayings, and birthday cards. You just have to find it … and then share it via GPS.

 

What is copyright and why is it important?

Copyright is the right to say how your ‘intellectual property’ – things you have composed, written, painted and so on – is used.

Imagine you take a photo of your little sister playing football. It’s such a good shot that you keep it in your wallet. Your wallet gets stolen and the next thing you know, you see the picture on a billboard advertising United’s new Academy. You’re a City fan and you’re not happy.

Now imagine the photo is of a professional model you’ve paid to sit for you in a studio you rented for the day. You had planned to sell the photo and it was going to cover next month’s mortgage payment. It’s enough to make you want to give up photography altogether.

Now think about how a poet might feel, seeing their poem published without permission.

 

What are the copyright rules about poems?

If you want to make one copy for private use, libraries usually allow you to copy a maximum of one poem per book.

If it’s a long poem, you can only copy part of it – and not more than 40 lines.

You need to seek permission to publish poems by living poets, but you can quote more freely from the work of writers who died more than 70 years ago, or if the author of the poem is unknown.

If you want to read more about copyright, look for The Writer's Handbook published by Macmillan, and Writers' & Artists' Yearbook published by A & C Black at your local library.

 

How can I get permission to upload a poem?

Ask the writer, or if the poem is published, you will need to ask the publisher. You’ll find their contact details online – you should contact their rights or permissions department with your request, including the URL www.southbankcentre.co.uk/gps and state that it’s not for commercial use.

 

Can I post poems I’ve written myself?

GPS is a poetry collecting project – you are encouraged to look around you and find the poetry that exists in the world already. If you would like to see your own poems in print, see the Poetry Library’s magazine webpage for some suggestions. Many of our partner organisations run courses that will help you prepare your work for publication.

 

Where should I pinpoint on the map?

It depends on the poem – if it’s a physical thing, you can put it on the map where you’ve found it, so other people can track it down. If it’s a memory, or something someone has told you, put a mark in the map where that person comes from, or where you heard it from them. Your pinpoint can be as broad as a city or as narrow as a full postcode, but remember, people will be able to see it on a map, so think carefully before putting your home postcode as a location.

 

What if I’m the author?

GPS aims to bring new audiences to poetry, and signpost them to where they can buy your book or CD or come to your performance. If one of your poems is being used without permission or is misquoted, or not attributed to you, please get in touch.

 

What type of files can I upload?

You should have no problem uploading an image you have taken with your camera or phone, as most image formats can be uploaded.
You can upload video that has been saved in any of the following formats: mp4, 3gp, avi, mpg, mpeg, wmv, rm, mov, flv, dv
You can upload audio that has been saved in any of the following formats: mp3, ogg, aac, wav, rm, flac
You can also type your poem, record straight from webcam or embed content from a site such as YouTube, Flickr, Vimeo etc.

 

What is the maximum file size for uploads?

There isn't really a maximum size but we would recommend  a sensible limit is 2mb for images and 10mb for audio/video. If your file is taking a while to upload, try resizing it using the same application you used to create the file.

Can I cut and paste text from somewhere else?

If you want to cut and paste text, we recommend you first paste to your computer's basic text editing application, as most word processing software uses hidden code that can get lost in translation.
Once you have pasted your poem into the text document, select the newly pasted text, copy again, and then paste into the G.P.S. text upload box. You may find that typing directly into the G.P.S. text upload box gives you more control over the layout of your poem.