by the Read Write Poem Staff

Hello Read Write Poem participants! We have exciting news: The new Read Write Poem site we’ve been talking about is slated to go live July 31. (We say slated because it’s still very much in development, and we might not make that date, but we are making every attempt to launch then if at all possible.)

This week, we will be sharing some of what you can expect on the site. Today’s big news is a sneak peek at the new editorial lineup — which will start out with a bang when we share our first monthly Celebrity Read Write Prompt by Dorianne Laux.

Note: We are still developing our editorial content, and we have decided to try a number of different pieces on for size, so this list is bound to change over time. We are always interested in participants’ ideas for content, so let us know if there’s something you would like to see us include by emailing us at info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org.

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Celebrity Read Write Prompt
We’ll get the poetry party started the first Friday of each month with a new Celebrity Read Write Prompt featuring a different guest poet. The lineup includes Matthew Zapruder, Dorianne Laux, Matthew Hittinger, Denise Duhamel and others.

Read Write Prompt
Don’t worry. You will still get your weekly prompts, including the Read Write Image and Read Write Word prompts, every Friday, in addition to the Celebrity Read Write Prompt the first Friday of the month.

Read Write Poem On Air!
Starting in October, look for several programs on Blog Talk Radio from Read Write Poem. Read Write Poem staff will produce an interview program featuring individual poets and panel discussions. Heather Strang will share creative meditations designed to open up your creativity and make you relaxed enough that you can actually write. We even have a poetry game show in the works: Think “Wait Wait … Don’t Tell Me!” meets “Name That Tune” meets “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.”

100% Honest Day: Poets Edition
A regular column in which Nathan Moore and Dana Guthrie Martin ask poets to get honest in the comments section of the post — anonymously, if need be. Never revise? Get honest. Love Billy Collins? Get honest. The first piece will include a brief history of confession and a discussion of why coming clean is so important.

Mini-Poetry Challenges
Carolee Sherwood and Jill Crammond Wickham will have you rolling up your sleeves and getting to work with these monthly reading, writing and writing-process challenges. The challenges could last a few days, a week or all month long. Don’t think of it as work; think of it as getting extra credit from this dynamic and engaging poetry duo.

O Tech!
Who better to talk about the interplay between poetry and technology than poet and technology whiz Dave Bonta? In this column, Dave will tackle issues such as accessibility in blog design, common poetry-blogging mistakes, microblogging and poetry, audio poetry, and more.

Virtual Book Tour
Read Write Poem is building a partnership with small publishers, especially chapbook publishers, to coordinate virtual book tours for their titles. Works will be reviewed on participants’ blogs. Partners include Blood Pudding Press and Limp Wrist Press.

Just One (Book) Thing and Just One (Chapbook) Thing
Do you ever read a book and have one burning question you want to ask the author? Jessica Fox-Wilson and Nathan Moore are doing just that in this bi-monthly column. They will each read a book or chapbook, then ask the author to respond to that one penetrating question whose answer they simply can’t live without knowing.

Games Poets Play
We all know poets like to play games, especially as a way of avoiding writing. Why not play games that also happen to be writing practice? Carolee Sherwood and other Read Write Poem contributors will share collaborative poetry games that can be played right in the comments section of the post. They’re fun, free and fabulous.

Participant Spotlights
Get to know your fellow Read Write Poem participants! Nathan Moore will ask participants to step into the spotlight and answer a few questions about themselves and their relationship to poetry.

Group Spotlights
Dana Guthrie Martin will invite community organizers to talk about their groups, what they are trying to accomplish with the group and ways to get involved with that group. (Note: The community organizer role will become clearer in the coming days.)

Obscure Poets
Suzette Hayden Elgin doesn’t ring a bell? How about Adela Florence Nicolson? If you want to know more about largely unknown poets such as these, read Kristen McHenry’s column. She’ll fill you in on all the details of these poets’ work and lives.

The PoBiz
Ever wonder about the business side of being a poet? January O’Neil will continue her column about the poetry business and getting involved in local poetry communities.

Read Write Poem Interviews
We have questions, and poets have answers. Dana Guthrie Martin, joined by various Read Write Poem writers, will continue this occasional in-depth interview series with poets, giving readers insight into the world of letters.

Off the Shelf
This occasional column from Dana Guthrie Martin features the last five poetry books a participant has read along with very short reviews of each book.

American Life in Poetry
Ted Kooser’s American Life in Poetry is a weekly column showcasing the work of contemporary American poems.

O Video!
On occasion, we will share video poetry from Dave Bonta’s Moving Poems site.