National Poetry Month Project

To celebrate National Poetry Month in April I would like to be able to feature one poet a day, much like we did for The Twelve Days of Poetry project.

That means I need 30 volunteers to send me a link to a poem. If you are interested in taking part then sign up in the comments. After that you have until April 1st to pick the poem you want to share and write a short bio about yourself.

Submit to: poetswhoblog@yahoo.com

Example 1:
Chicago native Poet Guy has been blogging for the last six months at Windy City Poet.
Today he offers the poem Lakeshore.

Example 2:
Candance Anderson's work can be found at Vividocity. She's been published at 32 poems and has been featured by Poet a Day. Candance asks that you check out her poem, Colors of the Wind.


Example 3:
In the spirit of ushering in Spring, JewelTones offers the poem Daybreak for you to check out at her blog, The Nature of Words. JewelTones is a stay at home mom in this lifetime but suspects she was an Indian Princess in her last. Please take a moment to pop on over to The Nature of Words.

Example 4:
Today's poem comes from Baxter of the poetry blog Dropped Verses. This university student in France has been writing poetry since he was 15. Wander on over to Dropped Verses and read Why She Never Loved Me.

Example 5:
Gigi from The Here is Now shares with all Poet Who Blog members her poem How High is Thee. Gigi has been blogging for the last three years and can often be found posting at Read. Write. Poem and The Writer's Island. She is formerely a featured poet in the Spotlight Series at PWB.


If you could write two to three lines about yourself and your poem in the third person for me to use it would make this project a lot easier on me. Thank you to everyone who decides to take part.

I really hope 30 poets jump in. If not I may link to famous poems on the days when no one has volunteered. Think this project will work?

It's up to you.

Sign up in the comments. Then send bio and poem link to poetswhoblog@yahoo.com

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

P.S. All examples are fictional.
P.P.S Who's following the Tag Poem?

Read Average Poet

Recently I was visited Word Catalyst Magazine and noticed one of our poets has been featured there several times. You can read his poem Autumn Roses Smell Sweetest by clicking here.

Bob Hazelton shares his work at Average Poet but his creations rise above average. I found myself entranced by his poem Tenebrous. He uses a see sawing effect that lifts and then drops the readers, mimicking the rise and fall of the narrator's journey.

I was thrilled to see one of PWB's own highlighted at Word Catalyst where more of the world can see his talents on display. Stop by Average Poet and share your thoughts with Bob. Let him know he has the full support of all of us at Poets Who Blog.

Welcome

Everyone say hello to the latest poets to join PWB. Make them feel at home, please, within our poetry loving family.

Poetry from the Phantom

The Sun in Your Eyes

The Thirsty Muse

This Bowl of Hours

Words from an Author

Poetry Tag

Who is up for a little game of Poetry Tag?

The first time PWB ever played was last October and November. You can read about how that turned out here.

The rules are pretty simple.

I will start a poem. The idea is for someone to post TAG in the comments. The first person who does this then takes my line and goes to their own blog. They make a new post that reads:

It's a game of poetry tag. Be the first to post TAG in the comments. Then take these lines and add one, in a post on your own blog, along with these instructions. Whoever adds the nineteenth line then takes the poem to Poets Who Blog at http://poetswhoblog.blogspot.com/ and puts the whole poem in the comment section there. Each person who plays need to also mention what site you were at when you found the poem so that other bloggers can follow the breadcrumbs back to this poem. You can play more than once but not twice in a row.

It’s easy. It’s interactive. It’s sending poetry around the blogosphere for all to enjoy. So follow the breadcrumbs and help this little poem of ours get back home.

I will use my other blogs to help usher this poem back but I can’t do it alone. Will you play along?

Tag Poem Two

Gasping for breath

Are you the biggest fan of a certain Poet?

Poets.org held a contest to find the biggest fan of different famous poets. You can read about the winners here.

The contest is now over but you can still submit an entry about why you are The Biggest Fan of your favorite famous poet. Send it into poetfan@poets.org.

Poets.org is still looking for more Biggest PoetFans to feature.

Black-eyed Susan asks about your writing habits. Stop by and answer her post.

She is one of the co- founders of the very unique prompt site The Last Piaster.

Take the First Line Challenge at Find My Muse

The Poets Who Blog members over at Find My Muse have kindly provided several first lines to inspire your poetry. Why not stop by and see if one of them could be the start to your next creation.



Click here to visit Find My Muse

To Get More Comments

Some tips to insure that everyone that wants to comment on your poetry can.

1. Enable your profile. When you leave a comment on a blog, other bloggers might want to click on your name to check out the person behind the thoughts. They can't if your profile is not available.

2. Use Name/URL on blogger. Remember if you don't have a blogspot blog but you want to leave a link to your site, you can click on Name/URL. Leave your URL that way. Check out the comments to see an example of me doing this.


3. Reconsider word verification if you use it. It can really discourage, or even make it impossible, for some people to leave comments. I've used it before and found that it does keep out spam. But most of my blogs only get about one spam a week. I would rather erase that then keep people from commenting.

4.Check your settings. Did you mean to make people log in in order to comment? I would rather delete the occasional rude anonymous comment than miss great ones from people who can't log in to google or wordpress. Consider making your comments open to everyone.

Overall, these choices are yours. But remember they do greatly affect how many reviews you get.

Know another tip? Leave it in the comments section.

Speaking of comments, today is your last day to check out our Featured Poets of the Week. Stop by thier sites and tell them you found them through PWB. Thanks for all your devotion to keeping poetry alive in the blogosphere.

Help a Poet Out

You can donate a line of your poetry to your fellow poets at Patchwork Poetry.

I've had a great time taking part in Jilly Poet's new site so far. Want to join in the fun?

over and over again, over and over again

Do you use repetition in your poerty? Stop by So You Think I Can to discuss why this works or doesn't in poetry.

Highly Recommended

Ever read a poem by a PWB blogger and been blown away? Leave a link to that poem in the comments section.

Poetikat recommends you check Curses at The Rambling of Angelica and Buds at Monkey Boy.

Visit these poets and let them know your thoughts.

Meet Walden

This North Carolina poet posts his work at Engineered Poetry, where he dabbles in exploring forms such as the sonnet, villanelle, and haiku. In his poems Home was Good and Swimming in the Infinite Between you can hear the echoes of his southern roots. I found his work to be thoughtfully composed, such as in his poem Tequila Induced Reverie where each word seems carefully chosen to evoke the five senses and breathe life into that creation.

Take a minute today and stop by Engineered Poetry to let Walden know that he has the full support of PWB.

Yahoo Group for Tanka Writers

Tanka is an ancient form of Japanese poetry where poems contain 31 syllables and the lines follow the pattern 5-7-5-7-7. For all writers of this form there is a yahoo group you can join.

Click here to visit them. You need to be signed into yahoo in order to see the site.

Anyone a fan of American Idol? Would you like to vote in the poetry equivalent of it?

Then check out the Fourth Daily Poem Project.

The prompt site Poefusion, home of Monday Mural and Friday Five, asked poets to give a try writing a Pleiades.

This modern form was invented by Craig Tigerman, editor of Sol Magazine, in 1999. It consists of a seven line stanza where each line begins with a word that starts with the same letter as the title of the poem. The title must only be one word.

You can read an examples here.

Stop over at Poefusion and check out the links to the work of poets who took part in the prompt, each one creating a pleiades of their own, and then think about joining in on the fun by posting your own pleiades.

Do You Haiku?

Stop by Mad Kane's humor blog to read haikus written on the theme of Bad Jobs. Why not submit your own while you are there?

Click here to visit your fellow PWB member, Mad Kane.

Need Critiques and Support?

Would you like to join an online community that's goal is to help you improve your writing? Then check out Poetry That Sucks.

Want to Submit?

The Grief Blog is holding its first annual poetry contest. Click here for details.

Do You Support PWB?

No, this is not a request to open your wallet. LOL.

If you want to help me (your blog manager) and want to help PWB, then please make a point to stop in and visit (and comment) on the work of at least one poet listed in the featured poet list on the sidebar.

Thank you for making PWB work. By encouraging your fellow poets you help to grow their confidence to post online and that adds to the amount of available poetry to read for free in the world.

If you aren't interested in visiting any of the blogs listed in the sidebar, ever, then you should not be on our blogroll, as you misread the post at the start of this blog, which states the intent of PWB.

A big thanks to every poet and other blogger who has helped this site over the last year. This site is here to benefit you, as a poet who blogs, not me. I was thrilled with my personal poetry blog before I ever started this site. I have met wonderful bloggers through there who supported me.
I wanted to have a place where others could find friends that would do the same.

Don't let PWB die. As much as I like bringing you poetry news and taking part in fun things like Poetry Tag the true purpose of this site is to find at least one additinal reader for every blog on the blogroll. That being said, anyone in the I Promise program is a rock star, to me, because they are putting in motion weekly the true intent of this blog. But you can help in a smaller way. Click on one of the blogs in the featured poet section, once a week, and let a poet know you stopped in and read their work.

Like so many other things in the world, PWB only works if people commit to putting in a little time and effort. Give PWB five minutes this week and visit one of the blogs listed.

Thanks so much for all your help. This is the end of your service announcement. This was just a warning, should this have been an actual emergency you would see DANGER! DANGER! flashing in red. LOL.

Sara
PWB Archives

Best New Poets will be accepting submissions for their 2008 anthology from April 15th to June 5th this year. For more details and information, visit here. To take part you must be nominated before then.

There is also an open internet competetion that all poets can take part in, as long as you have not published a book length collection. Find information about that here.

Grab and Go Poetry

Did you know that PWB has a companion site with prompts? There are several there you can check out, including the latest- Grab and Go Poetry.

Have you commented on the poets who are listed under Recently Updated this week?

Why not stop in and let them know that PWB works. When you support all PWB you help to spread the love of poetry throughout the blogosphere and maybe even the world.

I think it goes without saying I can't make this program ( which PWB is. When you sign up you agree to support the other poets listed here, in what way you can, in the time you have to spare) work on my own.

Be a solider in the PWB army (smile) and leave a comment today.

Thank you. Your grateful blog manager,


Sara

Read Spatherdab

I've wanted to revive the Spotlight Poet Series for a while now. Please turn you attention to the newest poet that PWB finds exceptional. Today we feature Spatherdab whose absolutely stunning poem song for bedtime is both lyrical and heart wrenching in its loneliness.

Spatherdab has only been posting at her blog, titled Laurie Macfayden's webprint, for the last three months but already she has nearly two dozen poems for you to peruse and partake in. Her poetic voice beckons back to simpler times, to when the land we lived on meant more than the car we drove, to when history meant family history and memory meant sitting on your father's knee.

Stop by and visit her. Support all poets who blog. Get lost in her world. I know I enjoyed my time I spent there.

If you would like to read about other poets featured at PWB, visit the PWB Archives.

Help to Stitch Together a Patchwork Poem

Jilly Poet has started a new site for poets who want to collaborate to write patchwork poems. Read about what that is here.

Head over to the new blog and take part in this fun new project!

Click here for Patchwork Poetry

The Cancer Poetry Project

Sue Miller, an editor and writer, chose to deal with her husband's diagnosis of cancer, in part, by turning to poetry. She realized that others might also find comfort in poems and set out to solicit poems from people who had experiences with the disease including patients, friends, spouses, family members and caregivers.

1,200 poems were submitted and the top 140 became a collection titled The Cancer Poetry Project, which is bookstores and online, including Amazon.com

Valentine's Day

Have a love poem that makes you want to swoon? If you know of a great poem for the upcoming holiday for lovers, written by you or someone else, then leave a link in the comments.

Poetry Tumble

How far can one perfect line of poetry take you?

When one poet read the poem Pillows by Chris Sapp, formerly a spotlight Poet here at PWB, she was inspired to take a tumble into poetry. Read about it here.

Read Black Eyed Susan

One poet has stepped up to help PWB celebrate Black History Month with poetry. This poet's work I have always found thoughtful. Her work also has an intimate tone that is quite refreshing.

Black-eyed Susan is one of the founders of The Last Piaster, a prompt site that goes beyond offering a simple phrase to inspire your poetry but instead asks you to try new forms, styles, and techniques to enrich your work with a deeper and richer sensibilty.


I ask that you stop by her personal poetry blog and read the poem she has offered in honor of Black History Month. When you do remember all the famous African American Poets who have come before, and think of all the young poets out there right now looking for an audience for their words, their heartbreak, their world view, their dreams, their secrets that can only be spilled with poetry.

To all of them, and to Susan, I say thank you. Thank you for writing. Thank you for spreading poetry throughout the world. The days go by but the words....the words remain.

New I Promise Bloggers

More poets have decided to take part in our I Promise Blogroll program. The idea is to stop by and comment on each other’s works every Thursday.

In order to identify your list, each blogroll is given a name. So far we have:
The Poet Within
The Heart of a Poet
Poetic License
Pay it Forward

Today I introduce you to the poets who comprise The Beauty in Words- I Promise Blogroll.

Noah who posts at Noah the Great

UL from Typing Away

Qualcosa di Bello from Write Away

The last member will be leaving The Heart of The Poet list and joining this one-

Paisley who posts at Just Paisley

Would you like to sign up for the next list?

If you do, please take serious stopping by the other blogs every Thursday, or let the poets know you're going to be on vacation or busy for a while, in those circumstances. Thanks!

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

PWB Interactive?

Have an idea for a prompt for PWB Interactive? Leave a comment if you do.

Have you heard of The Bathroom Poet Project? Stumbled upon one of these in your city yet?

Check out the Pay It Forward List

These poets have promised to stop by each other's sites on Thursdays and comment on each other's work.


Rules:1. You do not have to gush over their work, if you don't truthfully feel that way. But kindness and respect is required.

2. You do not have to post new work each Thursday. If you get to a site and don't see a new poem, search through the achives and find one to comment on.

3. If you want to be removed from the list please let me know.

4. If you disappear for over a month you will be deleted from this blogroll.


Pay it Forward I Promise Blogroll



Fox from Chasing Shadows
Gautami Tripathy from Firmly Rooted
Lissa from Just Write
Scott fromThe Voice of Reason


*On May 10, 2008 Fox from Chasing Shadows
left this list.

Question for all members of PWB

If I was to change the Recently Updated Section to Poet of the Day and list one blog, changing every day or few days, would you be more likely to visit that one blog? Or does the recently updated section work for you?

Comment. Make PWB work.

Your Blog Manager,

Sara

This is What I Like. What About You?

Over the last few months, I stumbled along these poems and enjoyed them. Leave a link in the comments section to a poem you read online and liked, not written by you. I'm sure that all you talented poets out there have read some that touched you. Let our other members know about them. Jump in and be an active part of PWB today.

This list is not extensive and does not represent every poem I have liked that I read online. But here are a few:

Hushed Morning by Fenny.
The Key by Nishant Tharani
sans defeat by gautami tripathy
A Lynching of Self by Lisa Chapman
Suffocating of Cures by alcoholic poet


Leave a link to a poem you like.

Have you visited the poets listed under Recently Updated lately?

Remember to support PWB. Spread the love of poetry throughout the blogosphere and you just may make this world a more creative place.

Do You Villanelle?

Ever tried writing a villanelle? Leave a link to your villanelle in the comments and I'll stop by to check out your work. To read my first one visit The Shores of My Dreams

Check out an article about The Soup to Nuts Progressive Dinner at For Your Success. There you can learn how to enter the next blog carnival and expose your poetry to new readers.

Poetry for Groundhog Day

You are invited to the third annual Brigid in Cyperspace Poetry Reading



WHAT: A Bloggers (Silent) Poetry Reading

WHEN: Anytime February 2, 2008

WHERE: Your blog

WHY: To celebrate the Feast of Brigid, aka Groundhog Day


HOW: Select a poem you like - by a favorite poet or one of your own - to post February 2nd.

RSVP: If you plan to publish, feel free to leave a comment and link on this post. Last year when the call went out there was more poetry in cyberspace than I could keep track of. So, link to whoever you hear about this from and a mighty web of poetry will be spun.


This information comes from Branches up, Roots Down. If you visit there you will find links to poets who took part.

World Class Poetry

Allen Taylor, of the blog World Class Poetry, ushers in Black History Month with a post about Langston Hughes. Head over to World Class Poetry to check it out.Click here.

Would you like to help PWB honor Black History Month with poetry?

If you are willing to write a poem about the struggle of African Americans to overcome obstacles throughout history, or about Africa and her people, or about overcoming racism, or any of subject that would honor this occasion, sign up in the comments section. Once your poem is posted, send me a link to it at IlovetowriteSMP@yahoo.com

I will then do a main post about your poem and direct readers to your site. Anyone interested?