Another Year, Another 12 Poems
Hi everyone!
Last year I did the Half-Marathon while sitting in a BnB in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. The weather was great and the Victorian desk sat with a view of the old (by Canadian standards) church across the street. The bells tolled on the hour, the place was quiet (Covid), and the time difference was perfect for my late-riser personality.
This year I’m in Germany, which puts the timing at 3pm-3am or vice versa. I’m not sure which I’ll do yet – still weighing the pros and cons. I often stay up past midnight anyway, so probably the first one.
In any case, I’m excited and happy to be part of this great event again! Some of my poems from last year have been published, and anyway, it’s just a good way to spend a day, flexing those poetic muscles.
This year’s Full Marathon Editor Ofuma Agali is a 44 years old writer and editor based in Lagos, Nigeria. His works have appeared in Nigerian publications – Post Express Literary Supplement, The Guardian, The Vanguard, and National Mirror – as well as in publications in other climes – Sentinel Literary Quarterly, Praxis Journal of Gender & Cultural Critiques, The Kalahari Review, and The Purposeful Mayonnaise. In his early years of creative writing, his poem, Sunset at Midnight, received a Special Commendation at the 2001 Poetry Competition of the Musical Society of Nigeria (MUSON) Festival. To date, five of his poems have been published in poetry anthologies, including two Poetry Marathon anthologies. He has also written a full-length published collection of poems, If We Are Willing The Earth Will Listen (2017). A revised version of this is ready for publication later this year. He has also written two full-length unpublished collections of short fiction. His current works in progress include a collection of short fiction, a collection of poems, a novella, and a novel. Besides creative writing, he is also a journalist, a marketing communication practitioner, and when he has the time, he likes to assume the work of a healthy living advocate. He holds a first degree in physics from the University of Uyo and a post-graduate diploma in marketing management from the Lagos State University. He is a father of three high-spirited boys, and that often feels like a full-time job.
This year’s Half Marathon Editor Cristy Watson is an award-winning author of eight novels for MG and YA readers. She loves entering writing contests and was thrilled to receive Editor’s Choice in the CV2, 2-Day Poem Contest in 2013. She also regularly participates in the Poetry Marathon in June, and she has a poem in an important and timely new anthology, ‘Worth More Standing’ (Caitlin Press; Christine Lowther, editor). She also volunteers at the Surrey International Writer’s Conference and was recently Committee Chair for Wise Words through the BC Federation of Writers. She completed a manuscript evaluation for an author through The Writers Union of Canada, as well as helping to previously judge their short fiction contest, and in the past few years, she has assisted writers of fiction, non-fiction, memoir and poetry. You can find her here: 