2012 Fearless Poetry Exploration Challenge - Accepted!

Last week I posted a laundry list of Literary Challenges (and posted a separate page for it as well) for the new year but I made no promises to complete any of them. Today, I am standing firm on one declaration:

I intend to read 4 books of poetry this year

Serena from Savvy Verse & Wit hosts this challenge as a way to build community around the fun of reading poetry. The rules* are quite simple - Complete one of the following:

1. Read and review 2 books of poetry
2. Participate in 3 Virtual Poetry Circles (online poem discussion)
3. Sign up for the National Poetry Month blog tour in April

*More details here

This challenge is an organized way to gather all my poetry goals for the year together. The first task has to do with immersing myself in poetry, both for enjoyment and analysis. The second involves poetry discussion, which I love, and the third involves writing poems in April - something I am already planning to do (for the 2nd time!).

Two poetry books will be from my shelves. Both are anthologies, one collected in the UK and the other showcases Caribbean poets. This is where you come in! I am seeking recommendations for (at least) two more poetry books. Please leave a comment with the title and poet's name and a reason why I should read the volume.

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Interested in this challenge? Let me know your exploration strategy!

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2012 Literary Challenge Calendar

For 2012, my writing goals are to produce more work, submit pieces, and develop better quality material. A great way to motivate yourself in accomplishing writing goals is to commit to a challenge. Here is a list of literary challenges you may be interested try:

Take on the challenge!

Monthly Challenges

March - NaNoEdMo - National Novel Editing Month "is a free service intended to encourage writers to edit unfinished novels." Writers commit to spending at least 50 hours of the month solely on editing a project.

April - NaPoWriMo - "National Poetry Writing Month is an annual project in which participating poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April" source. 
The April Poem-A-Day Challenge hosted by Robert Lee Brewer involves the added challenge of submitting 5 poems for placement in the top 50 and announcement of Poetic Asides Poet Laureate for the year.

May - Story A Day May "StoryADay.org is home to an annual Extreme Writing Challenge:

Write a story every day in May." Hosted by Julie Duffy.

July - JulNoWriMo - "Your goal, should you choose to accept it, is to write 50,000+ words during the month of July. Do you have the courage and the drive to attempt such a feat?" Hosted by Robert Watson.

November - November Poem-A-Day Chapbook Challenge - Participants are prompted each day to write a poem. At the end of the month, poets can compile a 10-20 poem chapbook and enter it for an opportunity at publication. Hosted by Robert Lee Brewer.

NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing on November 1. The goal is to write a 50,000 word, (approximately 175 page) novel by 11:59:59, November 30.


Seasonal Challenges


Winter - 24-hour Short Story Contest - WritersWeekly.com hosts this contest for $5. There's space for 500 participants who write stories with good endings. No word count limit stated. The topic is published on January 21st and they host one every quarter.

Summer - 100 Drabbles of Summer - Write 100 Drabbles (stories with exactly 100 words) between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Hosted by Charloft on LiveJournal.


Year Long Challenges


2012 Fearless Poetry Exploration Challenge - Read and review at least two books of poetry for the year. Hosted by Serena.

Write1Sub1 - "Write and submit a short story or poem every week (or month), starting the first week of January and ending the last week of December." Hosted by Ray Bradbury.

****I will be adding this information as a standing page on my blog. If you know of any other writing challenges (especially in the months that are not listed here) please leave a comment with as many details as you can share.

****Which creative challenge would you challenge yourself to this year?

Chapbook Challenge Manuscript - Completed!

Chapbook Title Page

I had no idea what I was doing.

Putting the manuscript together was an emotional struggle because I was unsure of my editing skills, unsure of what order the poems should appear, unsure of the poems themselves. I came across a poet's confession a few weeks back:

~ Book of Kells: Confession Tuesday - Looking Back: "I confess I'm just not sure my current poems are "good enough." And what does "good enough" actually mean? I'm not sure. But I just want to think they are incredible, but I don't."

I share her exact sentiment. In any case, doubts and insecurities aside, I strung a few poems together into a collection and I emailed it off to Robert Lee Brewer for judging. On Groundhog Day (Feb 2) I will know if it stood out in the crowd.

'via Blog this'