Hello, poetry lovers!
It’s March 1, 2021, and that means that National/Global Poetry Writing Month is just a month away.
Last year, Na/GloPoWriMo took place as coronavirus-based lockdowns swept across the globe, severing many of us from our family and friends, changing fundamental aspects of our daily lives, and casting a haze of trepidation over even the simplest errands. A year later, many of us are still facing the same pressures. But there is also reason to be hopeful. Last April, we took heart from how many of you were able to connect with one another through writing and sharing poetry. We are looking forward to this year’s Na/GloPoWriMo with the hope that it will give you a space to reflect on the past while moving with optimism into the future.
For those of you that are new to Na/GloPoWriMo, this is your opportunity, whether you’re a true novice or an old pro at writing poetry, to try your hand at writing a poem a day for the month of April.
How does it work? Simple — just write a poem every day from April 1 to April 30. If you’ll be posting your efforts to a blog or other internet space this year, you can submit the link using our “Submit Your Site” form, and your website will show up in our “Participants’ Sites” list.
And if you’re not planning to post your work online? No worries! Na/GloPoWriMo doesn’t require that at all. All you have to day is write a poem a day for April.
There’s no fees, no prizes (other than the reward of writing poems), and no one will be looking over your shoulder. If you fall behind, you can catch up. If you feel like writing two poems a day, go for it! The idea is just to get your creative juices flowing.
As always, we’ll be featuring a new, optional prompt every day during the month, as well as a bonus “early-bird” prompt that will be posted on March 31. Each day we’ll also feature a participant’s work. And one positive of the pandemic has been that poetry reading series have moved online, so it’s easier than ever to see and hear your favorite poets read their work. We’ll feature a reading every day, alternating between recorded videos of past readings that you can peruse at your leisure, and scheduled readings that you can watch live.
For those of you that would like buttons/badges to post on your blogs or websites to show your participation, here is this year’s crop!:
And a hint for those of you who would like to communicate with fellow Na/GloPoWriMo-ers — if you click on the title to each day’s post, you’ll find that the title is a link that will take you to a page specific to that day’s post, with a comment section. This is a great place to post links to your daily output during Na/GloPoWriMo, and to find other participants’ poems.
We’ll be back on the 15th of March, as we build up to our count-down to April 1! And if you have questions in the meantime, please contact us at napowrimonet AT gmail DOT com.
