The Poetry Marathon

The 2021 Poetry Marathon will be held on June the 26th. Official start time 9 AM ET. There is a second half marathon starting time at 9 PM ET.

The 2020 Poetry Marathon is now available for purchase. In the US and Canada you can purchase it through Aer. Internationally you can find a copy through Amazon.

You can see the Amazon UK listing here.

The Amazon India link is here.

Thank you to everyone who contributed their wonderful work. Also a huge thank you to Shloka Shankar for her wonderful job editing and to Dexta Rodriguez for the wonderful cover art.

An email with the digital copy should be sent out shortly to contributors. If you do not receive it please send us an email at poets@thepoetrymarathon.com.

A 2021 Poetry Marathon is in the works, although the exact date is not determined, because right now we are scheduled to move in June. Final dates should be released in February 2021.

The editor for the 2021 Poetry Marathon Anthology has now been chosen.

It was a very hard decision, with all the candidates making compelling arguments for why they would be a good choice.

One of the things I love about how the Marathon works is that the anthology has a new editor each year, and each year the editor shapes the anthology in different ways!

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 twice completed the full Poetry Marathon, in 2019 and 2020, and looks forward to it each year. One of her favorite things about the Poetry Marathon is reading the work of other poets, so she’s really looking forward to editing this year’s anthology.

Thank you for everyone who applied to the editor position! It is now closed.

We are also closing submissions of art at this time. Thank you to everyone who submitted.

We will be be contacting the potential editor this upcoming week and should announce this years editor by the end of April.

We will be replying to artists this week as well, although it might take us longer to sort out the details/finalize a cover (we probably won’t be making the cover itself till after the marathon).

Editing Position

We’re able to pay this year’s editor of the anthology $600 USD, after securing a generous private donation, as well as contributing to it ourselves.

The Poetry Marathon Anthology is may writers’ first publication, and others’ hundredth, but it is always a clear representation of the range of people who participate in the event.

You can see what last year’s looked like here.

Each year we choose a new editor, and the last two both did terrific job.

The anthology is a lot of work and the editor is expected to choose one poem, out of two that participants can submit, to publish in the anthology. They’re also expected to organize them in half marathon and full marathon sections, and to keep track of participant information. Optionally they can add introductions or subheadings.

If you are interested in applying to be the editor of this year’s anthology, send an email to poets@thepoetrymarathon.com, with a link to your poetry marathon profile/blog, and a paragraph or two explaining your previous experiences. CVs are not needed.

We are only interested in editors who have taken part in one half or full marathon previously. If you have not participated before please do not apply.

We close to submissions on April 23rd. We will respond to applicants by the end of April.

Artwork Submissions

We are also open to artwork submissions from anyone, previous marathoner or otherwise. Work must belong to you and you must be comfortable with us turning it into a book cover (digitally of course).

You can submit something that already exists or link to your previous art work examples and offer something new. No more than five pieces of artwork can be submitted per person. Any medium is allowed, as long as it can be turned into a print book cover. High quality resolution images are a must, though your initial submissions can be lower resolution.

We will respond to applicants that we are not interested in by the end of April, but may make our final selection between a few artists in July or August, once the anthology nears completion.

Please send work to poets@thepoetrymarathon.com.

If you have any question about either position please send us an email at poets@thepoetrymarathon.com.

Suspended in the moment between dusk and morning light,

the relentless sun lies peacefully asleep under the sky.

The breaking dawn leaves shadows and takes away silhouettes,

so the faceless forms you painted will soon wake up and forget,

expressions sullen with regret.

The space between the striking match and matchbox finds the spark

The flame compels a memory of springtime meadowlarks

How innocent the fingertips of kids who play with fire;

How quick the flame will burn your funeral pyre

Don’t try to pick the roses from the briar.

Delicate.

The purple flowers along the stream

Shrivel under your step

The wind tearing at my hair makes it impossible to see the hillside path ahead. Soon enough the rain washes away the horizon. I am as water, rushed into the ocean with the stream.

Steadfast.

Our Ocean keeps breath in your lungs

Against all odds, you survive.

It’s a fantastic world; alien and beautiful. Time is not measured here, and everything seems to be a work of art; thoughtfully assembled, priceless and unique. It’s an impossible realm, yet so close to home for those who seek it . . .

Displaced,

You are carried back to shore. You  wake up to the warmth of sun-dried rocks against your skin.

You step onto the unfamiliar land. 

Everything you know, washed away . . .

Return.

Run back to the ocean, with your heart overflowing

Into a River of Joy, which you can follow to your destiny.

In your head, there are endless paths traced with every choice

You see things like an artist

                               Sleep easy, dream boy

.

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Hailed as a “watershed moment for BAFTA” by chair Krishnendu Majumdar, the changes were unveiled Thursday following the conclusion of the primary phase of a comprehensive, eye-opening and, at times, painful seven-month internal and external review, launched in response to the controversy that erupted following the 2020 BAFTA Film nominations in January when all-white nominees made up the highest acting categories and therefore the director category did not include one female filmmaker.

The changes — considered the most important BAFTA has ever implemented — includes the introduction of a replacement longlist round in voting to realize greater diversity; increasing the nominations and making rule changes to many categories, including acting and directing; making film viewing compulsory for all voters in one round of voting; a big expansion of BAFTA’s voting members that targets those from under-represented groups; and pushing screenings onto a replacement digital platform.

“This may be a watershed moment for BAFTA. The Academy has never opened itself up like this before,” said Majumdar, who led the review alongside film committee chair Marc Samuelson and a specially formed steering group.

Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Majumdar described the changes as a “wholesale” and “interlocking,” claiming that they might make the Academy stronger. But he admitted that the discussions — which were had with quite 400 people from across the industry — had often been “incredibly uncomfortable” which he and Samuelson had “broken down and wept” on several occasions after hearing first-hand testimonies of how individual had been subjected to racism and discrimination. “I didn’t sleep one night,” he said.

Throughout the review, a good array of potential alterations to the BAFTA awards that would impact diversity levels were debated and discussed, including quota levels and even a category solely dedicated to female directors. But ultimately BAFTA said the choice was made to not tell voters what to vote for, but to vary the culture and make them more conscious of their responsibilities.

“I think the keynote is that we’re leveling the playing field,” said Majumdar. “That’s what people wanted, people didn’t need a guarantee of a quota in terms of diversity. they only wanted their work to be seen then judged on a more level playing field, so then there’s the chance and chance to be nominated.”

AFTER WE COLLIDED-[WATCH] After 2 After We Collided (2020) ONLINE FULL FREE-123MOVIES