The Poetry Marathon

My Poetry Journey

Hey everybody! My name is Hannah. I’m sixteen years old, and I’ve been writing poetry since I was 14. Over the past two years, I’ve written over 400 poems. I hope to publish a book of poetry within the next few years. Poetry began as a means of expression for me,a way to share the words I did not know how to speak out loud. Since then it has become so much more. I’ve been described as ‘an old soul’ and someone who can put things into writing that I have never experienced. Poetry allows me to use those gifts to my advantage and apply my observations in a way that is tangible and understandable. I am very passionate about mental health and helping people to see their value as humans in spite of their flaws. Many times it is easy to get so caught up in our thoughts that we forget to express them. Poetry helps me to slow down, think, and express myself, whether it is through messy, raw emotion or careful contemplation. It has helped me to find my voice. I hope some of you find it worthwhile to listen.

Its almost time

Looking forward to this years marathon.  Though it looks like I’ll be doing this one by phone only.

 

Vineet Pandit

Hi all!  Its an exciting prospect to take part in a journey into the deep realms of the heart.  Poetry has always been a part of me, making me see something where people see nothing and nothing in things deemed important by people like career, et al.  Living in India perhaps, living among myriad of temples with peace which few other places can give has added a touch of spirituality to many of my poems.

Art and literature are both smeared

by colors of passion

Give me strength, my mother,

to see beyond…

I have been very fascinated by Urdu poetry.  It is difficult to get the same beautiful form in English poetry which is more prosaic…

Introduction to me

My name is Harvey.

I grew up on the east coast and escaped to the west coast.

Then I found you can’t run away from you.

What I was really trying to find was inside.

Stay with me here…

There’s a lot more space in outer space than in the oceans.

But they are pretty much equal mysteries.

Just like I’m a mystery to me.

That is why I do the poetry marathon…this will be my fourth time (half marathons)…to explore the mystery.

 

Advice: Don’t think…don’t plan…try to be present.

 

So far I have used every prompt given.

 

The hard part is the discipline to go back and take the shell that was created during the marathon and search for the deeper poem within it.

It’s been a surprising pleasure to go back a week or two later and take the poems in sequence and tweak them…

That has gone much faster than I would expect.

And then a week or two after that – do it again.

The hard part is starting…the easy part is taking a gem and polishing it.

 

Good luck is the fish that is teasing your bait…just waiting to see if you have the perseverance to keep the line in the water until they forget what they’re doing and bite…

Harvey

Rose Mars

Rose Mars first saw poetry at the age of 6, and began writing at the age of 7.  She is a self-taught writer, whose main emphasis is poetry, though she aspires to be a competent writer of stories…someday.  Rose Mars has completed two collections  of poetry, and self-published one of them, titled A Body of Water.  Literary influences include Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, Arundhati Roy, and F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Rose Mars likes to mix writing with music and considers popular music as part of the modern history of poetry.  She especially enjoys and takes inspiration from Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Elbow, and Radiohead.  For Rose Mars, art is the lifeline, and poetry is something she was meant to do.  Without it, life feels empty.

Intro

Hello, poets! My name is Megan, and I’m an educator in Austin, Texas. I’ve never participated in any kind of writing challenge before and I don’t really consider myself an Author, but pretty words are my jam and I’m often muse-struck in the poetry realm. When I first heard about the Poetry Marathon, I registered immediately for the morning half (before I could chicken out). I’m a little terrified but mostly excited about the whole thing.

Wait…..okay, yeah. Still mostly excited. Excellent.

Greetings

Hello. My name is Nancy and I live in Tucson Arizona where we are currently ramping up the summer heat!

I mostly write speculative fiction, but everyonceinawhile poetry comes leaking out onto the pages as a welcome distraction – which tends to improve my fiction. This is my first marathon and I’ll be doing the half of it that occurs in the daylight hours. I’ve decided that I will be working on some bits and pieces of leakage and see what they become. Perhaps Leakage might even make a good chapbook title!

V.R. Dannenberg

I am a undergrad at SOU in Ashland, OR. I also studied in Manhattan for two years, and often travel between my homes in SoCal and Mexico. While I more often write fiction (dark, urban, etc.), I’ve recently found a great passion for poetry as well and am excited to participate in this marathon for the first time!

Un-Define Loves

Un-Define Loves

Light midst dark past hedges
Call of the wind howling
To create a lasting space
Echoes in unimultiverses cascading

To extract meaning to life coexistence
To correlate as ripple of soul connection
To deepen further in every possibility
To dug out the core of understanding

To garner the August hall of poem created
To let out in the catalyst of springtime
To reach out unto new depth of a soul
To heighten the nature of every year pulsating

To pursue possibility how the longing of a soul
Harnessing the universal call of loving
Edging the heart of a soul exchanging
Exuding soul engagement the “us ”

9: 10 AM PST 16/11/2018 first edition UP CAMPUS
2:50 PM PST 16/11/2018 second edition UP CAMPUS
3:15 PM PST 16/11/2018 3rd edition UP CAMPUS
3:48 PM PST 16/11/2018 Revised edition  UP CAMPUS

 

Hi! Ella … The Netherlands … 2 self-published poetry collections … university lecturer … almost 58 … no pets … no allergies … married rather happily