Poetry Competing for Reading Time--A Marvelous Dilemma

I often catch myself posting in the wee hours or right in the middle of a busy day--often as a break or distraction from whatever I should be doing at the time (usually grading papers.) This month I have posted less frequently perhaps because my semester is winding to a close and also because I have been participating in the Poetic Asides Poem a Day Challenge. As of yesterday, I am please to report that I met the challenge. Along with a few hundred other people from across the country and around the world, I checked Robert Lee Brewer (Writers Digest) site every day for a prompt.

The goal is not necessarily finely polished poems but good drafts. I first participated this time last year and found the experience so inspirational. A lovely secondary benefit was a little community of fellow poets who shared and responded to one another's poetry. This year when the initial days' posts numbered up to 1000, we were a little overwhelmed. After all, we were accustomed to reading all the posts every day and sending out kudos to the ones we loved.

To keep this active participation alive one of the "regulars" organized a Facebook subcommunity. The first person online each day started a message in the inbox to all of the fellow poets, and we posted there. It has been a delightful experience. We range from Germany and Spain and Mexico to Florida, North Carolina, California, Minnesota, and parts unknown. The conversations have extended beyond what we write to our lives, our families, our favorite poets, and more.

Now that April has ended, we have only to wait for the judging--Yes, this year, fifty of the poems will be selected by a hierarchy of judges including thirty professional poets for an E-book. Until then, we are suffering from prompt withdrawal--or at least until Wednesday when Robert starts postly monthly prompts again.

Poetry Competing for Reading Time--A Marvelous Dilemma