The Poetry Marathon

Submissions to the 2020 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 Shloka Shankar. Shloka is a freelance writer, poet, editor, publisher, visual artist, and surface pattern designer from Bangalore, India. She enjoys experimenting with Japanese short-forms, visual poetry, and myriad found poetry techniques alike.

A Best of the Net nominee and award-winning haiku poet, her poems and artwork have appeared in over 200 online and print venues of repute. When she isn’t writing or poring over manuscripts, she dabbles in abstract/digital art and conducts online poetry workshops to spread her love for words and art. Shloka is the founding editor of Sonic Boom and its imprint, Yavanika Press.  You can visit her website here.

Read our guidelines carefully before submitting.

All submissions must include two poems, no more, no less.

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 communication!

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 2020 Poetry Marathon. All poems should be completely edited and 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 (last time it was nine dollars to purchase a copy) and any money that is made from selling the anthology will go towards covering the cost of the marathon.

Want to know what the 2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology was like? Pick up your copy here.

The following poets set a goal of writing twelve poems in twelve hours and they succeeded! After a successful day (or night) of creating poetry, everyone on this list deserves a round of applause. Congratulations!

Also – be sure to take a look at the list of the incredible finishers of full marathon.

Jacob

PS: This list may contain errors, so please let me know if something is off, or if your name isn’t included when it should be, etc.

PPS: Please consider commenting on these poet’s work, now that we’re not fully occupied with completing the writing challenge.

Aqua
arundhathi
authorhj
Aymen Zaheer
azula14
betulaceae
BG.Writes
Britton
C. H. Lee
Caitlin Thomson
canfieje
Diane Carmony
dkt2010
dohamonde
dvnmskm
ellawagemakers
EmilyJV
estie05
evelynelainesmith
Jacob
farzanasuleman
Kat Kidder
kateadams
kcwolfe
Kevin J. O’Conner
kpsami05
kriscleage
Kwills
ladylazarus
Lani G
Laurak
lauraruth
Leroy Leonard
Leslie Ferguson
Vidyashankar
Lexanne
lindahallstrom
LisaAllenHyde
luellen
madamneverstop
MahimaGiri
fclemmons
friowords
genawilliams
Hafeezah
Halle
Harvey Schwartz
hollydistefano
HuffPunkMatron
Ilupeju Ayokunnumi
canyonwriter
Carolyn Robinson
catfeather
Christina M Rau
ChristinaSng
ciudadanaherzeleid
aditishukla
afarmer
agirlwithaquestion
Aiyana
alenacasey
amana
Ananya Mishra
angelatheresaegicwrites
anjanasen
annej
annwjwhite
anomalousresult
Anshu Sikchi
Anwar Suleman
claycrane
cristywatson
davidhennessy
Sue Storts
supertina19
tammibelko
tbaby606
thesassycrayon
tonet
toshia19
Tracey Saloman
treal1971
tsgannon
VidhiAshar
vschurman
Wendie Donabie
zann
Davita Joie
dawnkendall
denisehill
Diana Kristine
inger
Ingrid
Jana O’Dell
janeausten
Janette
JC the poet
jennifervera
jillh1980
jilowill
jmackenzie
Jo
joanne.mclain
JohnnyG
JoyceB
jsweeder
jvstanley
JWALKthe15th
karen
ManuDrama
mariamalimohammed
Maritza
mary
maryeugenep-flores
McCarter
melissalongo
mikewilson
naidanepascuasupnet
Nancoise
Nancy Ann
Nishant Jain
Noodle
Nykki
ofuma
onewithebony
pgerber
please9
poetrylover8204
psarvasy
purpleKoala
Qundeel Aymen
rainiezenith
rainmaker
Raven
redstar
revoltpoet
rheakumar11
rootedphoenix
Sarah Neal
SarahW
SashaS
ScottCoe
seawitch
selflovemagic
Selina Lin
seventhsolstise
sharonedge
sheilas
Shloka Shankar
shruti2581
SilverQuiver
SJHAWLEY
Skay
smileyone
solapeadeyemi
Stef

Dear Poets,

The following poets set the goal of writing one poem per hour for twenty four hours – and they succeeded! That is a wonderful, difficult, and rewarding achievement. Congratulations on achieving something few poets ever will.

Note, this list might have some errors. If you should be on the list and are NOT on the list, then please let me know. We will be announcing the finishers of the half-marathon soon. For now, let’s give the 24 hour marathoners a moment of recognition.

– Jacob Jans

PS: Please consider commenting on these poet’s poems. Also, keep in mind that this list is not in any particular order.

Danielle Wong
Valkyrie Kerry
Bhasha Dwivedi
Santosha
Sandra J
royalpurple
mhickok
Katelyn Dunne
autumnsonlyone
tammy
lepetitpoetry
Laurie McKay
waldomaui
Tracy Plath
aisha154
ohaliiceblack
joaquincapehart88
David Bruce Patterson
Angie Mountain
jessicabrynar
voldecurt
wormy76
efellows
yibbet
rarzackolaegbe
sunandashome
deko111
novamarie
erinemerick45
s-rupshamitra
Baker
kushesaggi
Ropa
jdgbp
Sam Azule
jondelb
bethf1128
mandykocsis
jabberwhacky
Hardika Sharma
Cindy Albers
Anne McMaster
MelNeet
Angel Rosen
Boheme Bia
earth2joy
Sara Plath
Roy Mark Azanza Corrales
willjxn
ajanta
Martin Rodriguez Torrez
bluemuse
gemlin
Amrutha B Nair
S.Elizabeth
garethroi
SarahJ
torrimbrown
dextajean
Mark Lucker
ramonaelke
77poetess
Vijaya Gowrisankar
oatman
sage moondancer
shirl
janiceraquelamendonca
June Gromis
elsalovesbooks
megsat
Deborah Dalton
Aaron Conklin
Deanna Ngai
Nicole Harlow
varenyas
Donna
Saki
ccwrites
Tessa Mountain
sjduncan
Cynthia Hernandez
meredithmcguire
janis
rosemars
AndaM
Renee A. Perkins
dscoremans
linst
mavschick41
Susmita
Reena Doss
Ian Barkley
jgershon1213
I.B.Y (Ibtihal)
Crystal Davis
sandraj631968
LuvMiFreely
jrturek
maypoet
dolcevita
Ivan Bekaren
barzeusmolen
Siobhan
chepchumba
Rileyj9104
gmazul
ladymae
inkspiller
nadinefrisk
Kendra Reynolds
dr-vishnuunnithan
Sandy Lender
jess
William Aswell
Prachi
rmervin
darialebedeva
margpeg73
yamalady
markpoet
Jodi Varnese
katmcg
thebootlegbodhisattva
drdino123
philosophymom
highpriest333
lynny9164
Roxann Harvey-Lawrence
tobett
clairek
jlnash

The following images are part of the Poetry Marathon Tradition. They are for you to do with what you want, but they are often used as a way to celebrate your success.

The official list of everyone who completed the half marathon and the full marathon will be released in the next few days.

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 or even fifth 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. Congratulations again on your completion of The Poetry Marathon. The version that you will download should be easy to edit and add your name to.

The link to the image for editing is here.

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

Also remember that this year we will be putting together a 2020 Poetry Marathon Anthology.

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

All submissions must include two poems, no more, no less. The subject line of all emails must be Poetry Submission. Poems must be included in the body of the email. The email address is  poetrymarathonsubmissions@gmail.com. But do not submit early! You must follow all the instructions below!

All poems submitted must be written during the 2020 Poetry marathon. All poems should be completely edited and contain no major grammatical errors.

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.

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

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 2019 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. 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.

Click on the link below and download the edit ready certificate if you completed The Half Marathon. Congratulations again on your completion of The Half Marathon.

Here is a direct link to the image for editing.

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

Also remember that this year we will be putting together a 2020 Poetry Marathon Anthology.

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

All submissions must include two poems, no more, no less. The subject line of all emails must be Poetry Submission. Poems must be included in the body of the email. The email address is  poetrymarathonsubmissions@gmail.com. But do not submit early! You must follow all the instructions below!

All poems submitted must be written during the 2020 Poetry marathon. All poems should be completely edited and contain no major grammatical errors.

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.

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

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 2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology was like? Pick up your copy here.

Write a poem about a gift, real or imagined, fantastical or boring.

Home stretch now!

Write a poem about an imaginary pet or person. The poem can be from your perspective, the perspective of a neutral third party, or from the perspective of the imaginary pet or person themselves.

You are almost there. I’m sorry, this is the hardest part, but I think it’s time for another image prompt. Please choose one of the following images and write a poem inspired by it. All but the second image are from Unsplash (the second one I took), all are free to use however you wish.