Hello marathoners and poetry lovers.

The Poetry Marathon feels like the true new year to me. Not just because I’m up the night through, counting down the clock, but because it brings me a fresh sense of hope for my future. I look forward to it for months ahead. I feel a sense of accomplishment when it’s over- even when I have to submit work I feel is sub par. And turning over a new leaf just seems to make so much more sense at the height of summer than in the thick of the cold, dark, bleak British winter.

Among other problems, I suffer from a mental health disability called Anxious and Avoidant Personality Disorder. A year for me has become a string of fears, hurt, and hesitation. Yet for two years running, soon to be three, since discovering the Poetry Marathon, I have, for at least 24 hours, been able to let go. When that happens I am free and I am me. It gives me a boost of spirit and a burst of inspiration that last for anywhere from weeks to months, which in turn makes me feel just a little bit closer to my dream.

If that’s not something to look forward to, I don’t know what is.

So happy Marathon, poets and readers! Rhyme on!