The International Society Of Poetry And Poetry.com He stole my private, unpublished poetry and says he's going to publish a book, with it in it Nationwide

The "International Society of..." is more or less a vanity press. You can submit a poem on poetry.com or a photo on photo.com and sooner or later you will be contacted by someone who wants to publish your work in a book and give you an award. The trophies are sold at a profit and so are the books. The truth is, they will hit up anyone. Try it. Take a cell phone photo and submit it on photo.com and see what happens.

Some people pay the money to see themselves 'published', but the award carries no real value in the respective industry.

Marta was incorrect about one thing- poets do not necessarily have to be compensated for someone to publish their work. All that a publisher needs is a release and that is usually covered when the work is submitted. Check the terms and conditions on poetry.com and see if it said anything about the work being published.

Remember that you are also dealing with the laws of the locations where the ISoP offices are located.

Marta, i am sorry to hear that this also happened to you. I was also in the same situation. I kept on waiting to hear about where my work went. Then I came on here and saw what they do. Google your name with the word 'poem" after it and you will see what they did. Anyone can buy our work or have it engraved on a plaque or put on a mousepad or tshirt. I am also upset by this. If you have any suggestions on how we can stop this madness, please contact me by posting a rebuttal under my post. We need to stop this company!!