Hi Everyone,

It feels good to see you here again this year. This will be my third year with this. In 2020, I signed up for the Full Poetry Marathon, but ended up completing Half. In 2021, I signed up for and completed the Full Poetry Marathon. This year, I am up for the Full. I am also excited to be part of the anthology editors for this year.

Like I have often said, I experienced what you might call poetry drought prior to the 2020 Poetry Marathon. I had written poems actively from my late teenage years into my late 20s and then gradually, I began to experience a decline of the muse as work and family began to take its toll on my time. To get out of this, I struggled to have my first collection (which was pretty much all that I had for poetry) published. That done, in 2017, I still found it hard to create poetry. Things went on this way until I found Poetry Marathon in the thick of the 2020 pandemic lockdown, and I signed up.

I went into the 2020 Poetry Marathon with some fright, as I wondered if I would find anything thing to write, for which poetry ought to happen. But then, as it started, I did. I found ideas. I wrote stuff down. And some of them have turned into fine poems today. But here’s the good news! I found my poetry inspiration again. And since 2020, I have been able to create ideas for up to four collection of poems ( some in progress, some to be written in due time).

The Poetry Marathon is a fantastic idea. It is even more amazing to see that it has been kept up since its commencement, for which optimal credit must go to Caitlin and Jacob. The community spirit is awesome. Knowing that you have people who can read your poems from all continents of the world is awesome.

I come into this 2022 edition of this even with great joy. It will be a great pleasure to meet all of you again – returnees and new participants. I wish you all the best of experience as you engage with the 2022 Poetry Marathon. Please feel free to look at my profile here if you like to know a bit more about me.

Here’s to a happy writing!

Ofuma