The Poetry Marathon

Introducing Myself for 2019

My name is Deanna and I live near Calgary, Alberta in Canada. I spent most of my life in southern Alabama in the US, but moved here almost 4 years ago. At the last Poetry Marathon I was in school, working on a diploma in Disability Studies. A year ago I graduated! It was quite the accomplishment seeing that I finished my last class on my 48th birthday. I am now working at a preschool/kindergarten for children with special needs as a child development aide. I love what I do and I am so incredibly happy to be doing it. Not many people get the chance to re-invent themselves at my age!

I am married and I have two grown sons, a daughter in law, two granddaughters, two granddogs, a grandcat, and a grandhamster named Chatter. Not to mention I have my own dog and two cats who live with me. My husband and my pup will be there to help me get through the 24 hours of the marathon. They were both a very big help the last time.

I am truly looking forward to challenging myself once more and happy that I know more of what to expect. I cannot wait to connect with everyone else who is doing this and it is going to be an amazing and exhausting amount of fun!

Deanna

Hello from Virginia (Who Happens to Live in Virginia, USA)

Hi, Everyone,

By way of introduction, I have been writing poetry for almost my entire life. I’m 61 and retired from my job as a writer for a pharma company almost two years ago to help care for my husband’s parents, both of whom have now passed on. (I miss them terribly.)

I had a blog, A Light Beyond the Hedge: Poetry and Somewhat Social Commentary for about eight years, but suspended it because of the current political climate in the US. I will bring it back at some point, but for the moment, I’m very excited to be joining the Poetry Marathon. It will be the second time I’ve participated (half-marathon last time and this time, too!) and I’m looking forward to not only seeing what my brain has stored over the last two years but also what my fellow poets will contribute.

To prepare, I’m writing a list of possible themes and a short idea on how to approach each one.

A big thank you to Caitlin and Jacob Jans for hosting this mad effort!!

Hey Everyone!

Hi there! I am so excited to be back, and partaking in another marathon. I will be doing the full marathon, the same as I did in 2015. I am looking forward to seeing my creativity get the boost it is in dire need of.

 

Happy Writing!

 

g.

 

 

 

Re-re-introduction: Kevin J. O’Conner

Greetings and Salutations! I have again signed up for the insanity that is The Poetry Marathon (okay, half the insanity, since I’m planning to do the 12-hour version again—because sleep); this is my introduction.

Among my various roles and attributes, I am:

• a self-published poet. I am up to twelve published collections of poetry now. My latest, Wishes sometimes have consequences, covers the chapter of accidents that was 2018. I continue to write every day, posting the best (or least horrible) of each day’s poems on my blog, Ordinary Average Thoughts. And I still participate in several open mics in the Seattle area, though the trials of the last year and a half have caused my attendance to be more sporadic than I would like.
• a freelance copy editor. This is how I make most of the money I don’t have. Fortunately, I have a background as a translator, because many of the documents I edit originate countries where English is not the primary language (e.g., Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Ukraine).
• a graphic designer. I can’t really say I’m a professional anymore (if I ever was—there isn’t much available for designers who aren’t focused on web/mobile/UI/UX design), but I have designed lots of posters, done some magazine work, album covers, and (shameless self-promotion alert!) do book and cover design. (Needless to say, I do all my own book design.)
• a sort of artist. I have backed off of photography in favor of digital sketches/paintings, which I started doing late last year after I inherited my father’s iPad. You can see some of my work here.

I still live near Seattle, but am now sans felines. My mom keeps urging me to get a new cat right away, but I’m not there yet. When I’m not writing poems, copy editing, attending open mics, or sketching on my iPad, I am looking for that elusive full-time job with actual benefits.

Let the countdown begin…

TTFN!
Kevin

(10 June 2019)

Intro 19

Hi, Everyone. Back again, serving time for rhyming behavior. This is either my third or fourth thong–er, I mean thon.

Heck of a year for me. Lost house, hubby, health.

Currently in chemo, cognitive studies at Jefferson Hospital in Philly, as well as unpacking and waiting for the bank to sell our old house. Cognitive issues make it hard for me to synthesize just about anythings. From items in the freezer that should make meals and just look like boxes, to boxes in storage that don’t ring a bell when I’m looking for important stuff to unpack, to words–just words. They’ve never been ‘just words’ before. And what to put together is a challenge.

Halfway through my book and am re-reading for editing. Can’t wait to get to the end and find out what happens. Don’t remember writing most of it. Every book is that way–surprise endings, no matter how many times I’ve read it.

Hubby isn’t gone-gone. Just psyched out from losing the house and hiding it from our family until it was too late. His brain is fried. Which gives me another issue to deal with–mostly alone.

Teenagers try to be a help, but other than the oldest going for groceries and the youngest giving good back massages from time to time…

My emotions should be just lovely for the prompts!

Poetry Marathon Sign Up Extended

Tonight we sent out the first round of acceptances for the 2019 Poetry Marathon! We’re very excited. Over two hundred people will be accepted in the first round.

Instead of offering a last minute secondary sign up period this marathon, we are extending the sign up period to the 15th of June. So the last day to sign up is the 15th of June!

You can sign up here for the full marathon (24 poems in 24 hours, one poem per hour) and the half marathon (12 poems in 12 hours, one poem per hour). All poems must be posted on the blog. This year for the first time the poems can be made private, so that the only people who see your work are other marathoners.

The Poetry Marathon will start at 9 AM ET on June 22cd. Half marathoners can start at 9 AM or 9 PM on June the 22cd.

If you complete the marathon or half marathon you are eligible to submit to The 2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology edited by Jennifer Faylor.

The details of the anthology will be released after the Marathon. To learn more about The Poetry Marathon as a whole go here.

Exciting!

This is my first marathon and I am so so excited.

Sign up to Participate in the 2019 Poetry Marathon!

Sign up is now open for the 2019 Poetry Marathon! You can sign up here.

The 2019 Poetry Marathon starts at 9 AM ET on Saturday June 22nd, and will go till 9 AM ET on Sunday the 23rd of June. Those who are interested in doing a half marathon start at 9 AM ET on June 22nd and go till 9 PM on the 22nd. Or they will start at 9 PM ET on the 22cd and continue to 9 AM on the 23rd.

The goal of the poetry marathon is to write and post one poem an hour for 24 hours. Half marathoners post a poem per hour for a 12 hour period.

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 learn more go here. To sign up go here.

If you are interested in participating please sign up by the 12th of June! We will get back to applicants on a rolling basis.

Gearing up for the 2019 Poetry Marathon

Sign up starts on June Third! Jacob and I are going to be particularly busy this year, as our daughter celebrates her first birthday on the second of June, but we are excited!

The prompts are all ready to go and have been scheduled. This year some hours will have more than one prompt so that people have more options. Thank you to everyone who contributed a prompt.

Another big shift this year is that the posts in the marathon will be private by default. If you participate you can see others posts, if you don’t participate, you won’t.

However, if you do want to share your work with friends you are free to do so on your own blogs are social media. But the overwhelming feeling of the group was that private posts would be preferred.

The other big piece of news is that we have an editor for our Poetry Anthology this year. I’m really excited about this as it’s the first time I am not going to be the editor.

Jennifer Faylor is a poet and literary editor raised in NYC where she earned her MFA in Poetry at Sarah Lawrence College. Currently she lives in Washington State and is working on her first short story collection. Her website is jenniferfaylor.com.

She has volunteered and participated in a number of previous marathons!

 

There will be a 2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology

Thanks to a generous donation from an anonymous donor there will be a 2019 Marathon Anthology!

All individuals who complete the 2019 Poetry Marathon and Half Marathon are eligible to submit to the anthology. Submissions will open about two weeks after the Marathon is over.

Jennifer Faylor a poet, editor, and past poetry marathon participant will be the editor of the 2019 Poetry Marathon Anthology. We are very excited in every way for this to happen!