The Poetry Marathon

Submissions to the 2021 Poetry Marathon Anthology are open now and will stay open through the 25th of July!

We our pleased to announce that our editor this year is

Read our guidelines carefully before submitting.

All submissions must include two poems, no more, no less. Only one submission per person.

All submissions must be made via the email address – poetrymarathonsubmissions@gmail.com

DO NOT email us at the email address we use for all other communications!

The subject line of all emails must be Poetry Submission. Poems must be included in the body of the email.

All poems submitted must be written during the 2021 Poetry Marathon. All poems should be completely edited and as much as possible contain no major grammatical errors. Revisions are allowed and encouraged before submitting. Please check your punctuation. All poems should be single spaced. Any extra space will probably be interpreted as a stanza break. 

The first word of every line should not have a capitalization unless it is intentional! Word has an auto caps feature that you can turn off by following the instructions below.

You must indicate which hour each poem was written in. Only poets who completed the whole or half marathon will be eligible to submit. Also indicate your location. Please include a link to your page on the Poetry Marathon.

Thank you for following the guidelines! I know they might seem a little strict but they make it possible to put together an anthology in a few months. The anthology should be published this fall.

There is no guarantee that by submitting your poem will be selected, although the goal is to include one poem by everyone who submits.

After the poems are published in the anthology all rights return to you.

Digital copies will be made available for free to any contributor. Print copies will be available for a reasonable price and any money that is made from selling the anthology will go towards covering the cost of the marathon.

Poems should be cut and pasted into the body of the email. If the formatting is important you can attach it as .doc or .docx.

This year’s anthology editor is Cynthia Hernandez.

Cynthia Hernandez experiences life as poetry and expresses it through writing, photography, visual arts, and her relationships. Born and raised in Washington State, Cynthia has enjoyed a lifelong love affair with rain, sun, wind, trees, rivers, lakes, mountains, and the vast waters of the Puget Sound. When not writing, taking photos of birds, flowers or sunsets, or throwing herself into her work at King County government, Cynthia can be found in conversation, celebration and presence with her son Gabe, family, and friends. Cynthia has self-published two collections of poetry and is working on a third. She has thrice completed the full Poetry  and looks forward to it each year. .

I am pleased to present the wonderful poets who successfully wrote 24 poems in 24 hours, a truly remarkable achievement.

The poets are not listed in any particular order, but they are all particularly impressive for the incredible feat of endurance and creativity they completed. Also, keep in mind that the counting may not be perfect. If I missed someone, please let me know by emailing poets@thepoetrymarathon.com

Included here are also those wonderful poets who successfully challenged themselves to write 12 poems in 12 hours; giving themselves a full day of creative endeavoring.

The following poets fell just short of 24 poems in 24 hours. Though they didn’t quite finish the full marathon, they deserve special recognition for more than completing the half, and coming so close to finishing the full marathon. (And if I somehow missed one of your poems, in my counting, please let me know!!!)

rachelmarcohavens
@voldecurt
jdgbp

You did it! Congratulations! I am very impressed! You wrote 24 poems in 24 hours. This is an achievement that few poets ever accomplish. Although, if you are a returning marathoner, some of you might be accomplishing it for the second or third time or fourth, fifth or even sixth time!

Now you should probably go get some sleep.

After every marathon I have participated in I have been filled with exhaustion but also a tremendous sense of achievement. I hope you have that too.

In the past I have personally verified that everyone who applied for a certificate was eligible and then I would make a certificate. That is not possible this year and so we will be operating on the honor system.

If you completed the full 24 hour Poetry Marathon please consider the following certificate yours, to update with your name, to print if you choose to do so. We will be taking feedback into consideration, so if you really feel strongly about this new state of affairs please email me at poets@thepoetrymarathon.com to explain your position.

Only use the link below to access the certificate if you have completed the Full Marathon.

Click on the link below, and save the PowerPoint file to your computer, add a text box. Type in your name, then save as a JPEG.

The link to the Powerpoint for editing.

The visual example of what the certificate will look like is right below this text.

Also this year we will be putting together a 2021 Poetry Marathon Anthology.

Submissions will open July 6th and stay open till the 25th.

Full anthology submissions details will be available on the 6th. All submissions must be written during the 2021 Poetry Marathon.

Digital copies will be made available for free to any contributor. Print copies will be available for a reasonable price and any money that is made from them will go towards covering the cost of the marathon.

Want to know what the 2020 Poetry Marathon Anthology was like? Pick up your copy here.

Congratulations Half Marathoners! I am so happy that you have completed 12 poems in 12 hours! That is wonderful. Thank you for joining us in this madness.

In the past I have personally verified that everyone who applied for a certificate was eligible and then I would make a certificate. That is not possible this year and so we will be operating on the honor system.

If you completed the Poetry Half Marathon please consider the following certificate yours, to update with your name, to print if you choose to do so. If you need any help altering the certificate please email me at poets@thepoetrymarathon.com

Click on the link below, and save the PowerPoint file to your computer, add a text box. Type in your name, then save as a JPEG.

Congratulations again on your completion of The Half Marathon.

Here is a direct link to the Powerpoint for editing.

The visual example of what the certificate will look like is right below this text.

Also this year we will be putting together a 2021 Poetry Marathon Anthology.

Submissions will open July 6th and stay open till the 25th.

Full anthology submissions details will be available on the 6th. All submissions must be written during the 2021 Poetry Marathon.

Digital copies will be made available for free to any contributor. Print copies will be available for a reasonable price and any money that is made from them will go towards covering the cost of the marathon.

Want to know what the 2020 Poetry Marathon Anthology was like? Pick up your copy here.

The Poetry Marathon Anthology have closed to submissions for the year. July 25th was the last chance to submit.

If you have any questions about the status of your submission, please email poets@thepoetrymarathon.com, and Caitlin will double check.

We are very grateful for all the wonderful submissions we received this year. Acceptances have started to go out. All authors should hear back from Editor Cynthia Hernandez, within two weeks of submitting. We are very grateful for her hard work.

i am begging:

let me be

lonely but not invisible

let me be

at peace

let me be

Leisure walking is a pastime

It may take time

Do walk daily

It is a pastime

Her storefront was pregnant with army

Of buyers

Of suicide bombers

On alert, her heart beat faster

Her fear spread quicker

Like a needle, it pierced her soul

Bombers would kill

Thieves would steal

And a cloud of witness?

My thoughts are getting slower

My eyelids are closing lower

My brain is loosing it’s ability to think

I feel like I just might sleep if I so much as blink

Lying on a warm bed while writing this was a mistake

But a risk I was willing to take

Now I’m not sure if I’m filled with regret

My drowsiness has make me forget

It’s so weird because all the other nights I was able to stay awake

Now all I want to do is close my eyes and take a break

But I know that if I do that I’ll fall into a deep sleep

So my eyes open I shall keep (I hope)

Is my words even making sense

If it’s not, I’m sorry, my minds dense

See, I don’t even understand what I just wrote

I’m struggling to stay afloat

The idea of drifting off into  a deep, peaceful sleep is so appealing

How do I get rid of this tiredness I’m feeling

Plus it’s not even yet 12

And I’m already feeling sorry for myself

Anyway, I’m going to have to be awake for a couple more hours

So let’s hope I don’t *word that rhymes with hour abn makes sense*

Well, my fellow marathoners, we are coming to the end of a rather short but educational and worthwhile journey. Several of us have already submitted our poems for the anthology. When that is done, it is time to take a little rest from our labors. Then the melancholy sets in. That twisting blue note which accompanies me at the end of every event in my life, whether it has gone well or not. I would say that the marathon has gone well. My melancholy includes a grateful warmth to Caitlin and Jacob for putting this event together. They have done a fantastic job. I was also very happy to work with Sangita and Vidya to prepare our poems for the anthology. I hope I will see them again. These are the good memories that create the melancholy. The better the time. all the more   bittersweet the ending. And so after I submit my poems this evening for the anthology, I need to go and give myself over to the sweetly painful melancholy that is beginning to wash over me. But before I go, I want to wish you all well and the best of luck in all of your future endeavors, whether they be in writing fiction or nonfiction, novels, essays, poetry or flash fiction. Every piece has a place. It only needs to find its home.

Once upon a time book.Collection of adventure story.

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She awakes in a fog

and though she tries

each time

in vain

her dreams wander off

leaving her alone

with wobbly thoughts

and daunting realizations

in this quicksand of shifting states

She seeks magic

a blackened brew

hazel nut and vanilla or a mocha perhaps

already she smiles though it hasn’t touched her tongue

already the magic has begun

looking in but you’ve closed the door

memories of how it used to be hang above like darkened clouds

I have no choice but

to step back

and wait it out

Is this how it’s now going to be?

I fix my mask and stifle a cough

I sanitize my hands before

fingers can even think to brush away a tear

Is this how it’s now going to be?

swarms of soulless eyes silently crying inside

the language of touch forsaken

gathering as one… a sin

how I long to greet you

but is this how it’s now going to be?

I should have held on tighter to yesterday

but didn’t see this coming

didn’t see the door closing on what we once had

some say we’ve found a way to get back

but will it ever be the same?

will it ever be normal? at least the memory of what it was?

Perfection it was not

but just to touch and laugh and hold and shed these masks to reveal your smile

indeed that would be just enough

Another new day was about to begin

without an alarm

the sun flung it’s arms wide

shattering through the bleakness of tempered sleep

the birds took cue

and spit out a tune

and that was indeed the end of sweet bliss