The Poetry Marathon

According to timeframes, what’s the time for the contest in Nigeria?

This is the last day to sign up for the 2020 Poetry Marathon! You can sign up here. We will be sending out the final round of acceptances tomorrow, June 24th. If you do not here from us tomorrow, please send us an email at poets@thepoetrymarathon.com

Over 475 people people have signed up for the marathon. We also recently announced that there will be an anthology open to everyone who successfully completes the full and half Marathon.

Right now about 50% have signed up for the half marathon – 12 poems in 12 hours, and 50% have signed up for the full marathon – 24 poems in 24 hours.

The marathon itself will start at 9 AM ET on the 27th of June and go till 9 AM on 28th. Half marathoners can start at 9 AM ET or 9 PM ET on the 27th.

This is an international event with participants from all around the globe. Generally 500 people attempt the marathon. You do not have to be a poet to participate. To find out how to convert your timezone go here.

To learn more go here. To sign up go here.

We will get back to applicants on a rolling basis. Most people who apply will be accepted. If you have not heard from us a week after applying please send us an email at poets@poetrymarathon.com. Please do not try and contact us through the FB page.

I’m Tammi, and I hail from a tiny burb of Cleveland, Ohio where I reside with my husband, three children and somewhat feral tabby cat. I teach middle school English and enjoy reading and writing YA novels in verse. This will be my second half-marathon. Since last marathon, I have had my poetry appear in “Down in the Dirt Magazine” & “Caterpillar Magazine” as well as “2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology.”  I have always enjoyed sharing poetry with my students, but last year’s marathon inspired me to become involved in additional poetry writing opportunities. In April I discovered a teacher writer group #verseloveforteachres from Ethical ELA, and I spent every day in April writing poetry for poetry month. 30 poems in 30 days!  The experience of writing poetry with other poetry lovers is a fantastic way of connecting with the world. It brings people together and helps us see our humanity more clearly. Can’t wait to write poetry with you!

Hi Poetry Marathoners,

I am looking forward to this Saturday, June 27th. I plan to write 12 poems from 9am to 9pm. I did this a few years ago and was pleased with the results. The hours go by so fast. I feel like I may have an advantage this year because I have been an avid writer of haiku lately, and they do come to me rather rapidly, although a good haiku is one of the hardest types of poems to write well. The American Sentence comes even faster, and is not nearly as hard to nail a decent one. I will be looking to write longer prose pieces using haiku and AS as backups. Lots of tea and cold brew coffee, and healthy snacks.

Good luck everyone!

John S Green

Hello everyone!

What’s up peeps!

Hi there!

This is my first time doing this poetry marathon and using WordPress, so I’m hoping everything goes smoothly. I’m not sure what I should write about in this post, but it said to introduce yourself, so I guess I’ll try to briefly introduce myself.

I’m sixteen years old, supposed to have my learner’s permit right now, and incredibly stressed because I know junior year is going to be awful once it’s September 2020. I just wanted have some fun with my friends this summer (since most of them can legally drive now), but instead, I’m stuck at home, reading three biology textbooks, preparing for these ridiculously stress inducing competitions, trying to write music and lyrics at 3 AM for this band I’m in, looking for online jobs because the place I wanted to apply for is still closed, and stealing the Xbox from my brother, who keeps hogging it, so I can finally play Call of Duty.

I’ve been doing creative writing for a long time now (I think I really started getting into it in fourth or fifth grade), but I don’t think I’ve ever written 24 poems in 24 hours, or 12 poems in 12 hours… heck, I don’t think I’ve even written more than 2 poems in a single day! Hopefully, my brain doesn’t cancel on my last minute. I really don’t want to have a writer’s block in the middle of the marathon.

That would really suck.

Anyway, my life is kind of a mess interesting right now, but thankfully, this marathon is still taking place! I’ll be doing the half-marathon this year, since it’s my first time. I also really don’t want to pull any more all-nighters than I need to.

Well, I think that’s enough about me for now. Good luck to everyone participating, and for those doing the full marathon, I’m wishing you some extra good luck with staying up all night!

Selina 🙂

Hi Everyone,

My name is Ofuma Agali. I am happy to join you all this year for The Poetry Marathon 2020 and I look forward to it as it will begin on the 27th June, which is my birthday.

About Me

I writes poetry and fiction as my current genres of interest. My works have appeared in The Post Express Literary Supplement, Sentinel Literary Quarterly, and Praxis Journal of Gender & Cultural Critiques. Two of my poems have also been published in the anthologies. I have written a collection of poems titled If We Are Willing The Earth Will Listen and I completed a collection of short stories early this year. I experienced a creative writing lacuna that spanned over a decade as a result of professional and life pursuits. It was a miracle to have my creative writing back!

I live and work in Lagos, Nigeria. In the course of my professional life, I have worked as a journalist, public relations consultant, training manager, and content marketing consultant.

Why I applied for The Poetry Marathon 2020

I got to know about The Poetry Marathon only this month and I found it quite innovative. Kudos to the founders and team! I have not written or completed a poem since I resumed creative writing about three years ago, apart from one which I am not quite proud of. Fiction attracts me more now. So I thought the Poetry Marathon might help me rekindle that spark.

I am looking forward to this!

Yes, I am.

See you all on Saturday.

Greetings:

I’ve signed up for the half marathon because I know I could never make it for the 24-hour marathon.  This is my first time and hope it’ll be the first of many!

I’ve been writing poetry for years in a snail mail critique group for more than twenty years. Last year I also joined up with other poets to write a poem a day and post to a private Facebook group. I’ve missed a few days and am scrambling to get caught up and am almost there.  i live in Aurora, Colorado. Grandchildren are in Denver only three blocks away.

I will have some other things to juggle at the beginning of the marathon but plan to manage them so I can keep within the parameters.  Then it will total devotion the rest of the day!

This is also my first experience with WordPress. So far things seem to be going well!

Thanks,

Karen B. Call

This is my first time doing this poetry marathon and I am super excited!! I was supposed to do so much this summer but of course, everything was canceled. If they hadn’t been canceled I would have never learned about this awesome chance to show off my skills and do something I’ve never done before: stay up for a full 24 hours. I have tried pulling off all-nighters but have never succeeded so I hope this goes better than my previous attempts! Good luck everyone and remember this is for fun, don’t make it stressful!

So much happens in a year. Since last years marathon, oh yeah I didn’t do that one because I was traveling to celebrate a 30th wedding anniversary of friends. There were 3 couple there who all celebrated 30 years in 2019, myself included. Anyway I’m anxious to be back. This year I’m suffering tendonitis, I will persevere. I am eager to write 12 poems in 12 hours this year. Good luck to all

this year has been a big reboot for everyone, truly grateful to have something similar come back to the world wide web.

can’t wait to challenge the mind and the heart!