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introducing the read write poem napowrimo challenge

by the Read Write Poem Staff

Just in case you missed our previous announcements, Read Write Poem is preparing for NaPoWriMo (National Poetry Writing Month, an event that coordinates with the April celebration of National Poetry Month in the United States). NaPoWriMo — or InterNaPoWriMo, as we sometimes call it here at Read Write Poem, is an event in which poets write a poem every single day of the month! We have, thanks to you, our members, prepared 30 member-authored poetry prompts that will run every day of April.

And that’s not all! In addition to the daily prompts, we’re taking things up a notch this year by drafting a pledge post that members can “sign” by leaving a comment. Those who sign will be promising to do their darndest to complete every single day of the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge during the month of April. That’s right — we’re asking you to make a pledge to write a poem for 30 days straight.

What’s in it for you — besides the satisfaction of writing poetry daily for an entire month, and the ways in which doing so will enrich your life and make it (and you) a bright, wondrous thing to behold? You need more than that to inspire you? How about being included in a digital anthology that showcases the work of everyone who completes the challenge? That’s right. We will create an anthology that will include one poem by each person who writes a poem every day during the month of April and shares their link (or the poem itself) in the comments section for each day’s prompt. (In the coming days, we will post guidelines for inclusion in the anthology.)

May 1, we will publish a post in which those who completed the challenge can leave a link indicating they wrote a poem each day. Challenge completers will be given directions for sending in the top three poems of their choosing so we can select one per person for inclusion. The final document will be laid out and shared as an electronic file here at Read Write Poem and at issuu.com.

What if you miss a day? Are you out of luck? Nope. We are also raffling off a few “gently used” poetry books from our own poetry collections, and every single person who takes the pledge and at least attempts to write a poem each day during April will be included in that raffle. (We have to share books because Read Write Poem doesn’t have a budget — and besides, sharing books is ecologically responsible, and we’re all over that.)

So, to summarize: April means poems, poems and more poems, poetry books, a poetry anthology, Read Write Poem, National Poetry Month, NaPoWriMo, The Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge, poets, poets and more poets, and a whole lot of poetry love. What could be better?

Now let’s all brace ourselves, because the madness — we mean fun — is right around the corner.

Also, be on the lookout for the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge pledge post. We’ll be posting it soon, and you definitely want to get in on the signing-up action. That post will also contain the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge logo, which you are free to share on your sites. (You can also get it early if you want, since it’s already made an appearance in our sidebar.)

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Posted by Read Write Poem under NaPoWriMo 2010

30 comments to introducing the read write poem napowrimo challenge

read write poem news

  • read write poem napowrimo anthology
    June 20, 2010 | 1:36 pm

    The Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Anthology is still in production. Selection, placement, layout and copyediting are taking longer than anticipated. Thank you for your patience. I hope to have the piece completed in July. For those who have emailed asking if they can be included, the May 7 deadline for submission of work stands. Those who met that deadline will be included. Please check the post on this site listing who I received submissions from by that date. If you submitted your work by the May 7 deadline in accordance with our guidelines and your name is not listed, send an email to info (at) readwritepoem (dot) org.

  • read write poem napowrimo anthology
    May 5, 2010 | 3:09 pm

    Remember that Friday* is the deadline for submitting work to the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Anthology. Check out the guidelines for submission in the main column (to the left). On May 8, we’ll post a news item listing everyone we’ve received work from. If you submitted work and your name is not on that list, please let us know. Thanks!

    *I initially said “tomorrow,” but I meant to say “Friday.”

  • napowrimo congratulations, and a reminder
    April 24, 2010 | 12:05 pm

    It’s the final week of the Read Write Poem NaPoWriMo Challenge! Just 7 days left. With that, a reminder that Read Write Poem will culminate with the anthology featuring work from those who complete the challenge. A post with details for submitting to the anthology will be published May 1. Be sure you remove any information from the site that you want preserved — such as group content and personal messages. Those elements of the site will be removed May 1 as well. The main site will remain up as an archive.

  • ‘underlife’ tour at january gill o’neil’s blog
    April 20, 2010 | 8:11 pm

    January Gill O’Neil’s virtual book tour has moved to her site and is underway now. Check out the lineup at Poet Mom.

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