NaPoWriMo urges you to write a poem a day for the month of April. Any length, any form, any topic, as long as you end up with something vaguely resembling a poem.
Founded by Maureen Thorson, National/Global Poetry Writing Month (Na/GloPoWriMo) is now more than 20 years old!
The team will offer daily prompts to help your writing along, and urge you to mix-and-match poetry prompts.
They say: “How does it work? Simple — just write a poem every day from April 1 to April 30. If you’ll be posting your efforts to a blog or other internet space this year, you can submit the link using our “Submit Your Site” form, and your website will show up in our “Participants’ Sites” list. And if you’re not planning to post your work online? No worries! Na/GloPoWriMo doesn’t require that at all. All you have to day is write a poem a day for April.”
You can also find prompts by Robert Lee Brewer at his April Poem-a-Day challenge. Alternatively, take a look at my weekly writing prompts, published every Wednesday – could any of them sow the seeds of a poem?
In January 2021 I made a choice to read at least one poem a day, and I’ve kept that up. I have a huge admiration for the mastery poets have over words, and some of the most beautifully written novels I’ve read have been by poets. It’s something to do with the linguistic agility and originality required to take a commonplace sentence or sentiment and imbue it with a rhythm that makes it really shine in the reader’s mind long after they’ve read it.
Whether you’re a poet yourself, or simply tempted by the form, Na/GloPoWriMo seems like an opportunity to hone your writing muscles. My aim, as always, is to discover how to take my flash fiction writing and elevate the brevity of that skill to a new, glittering level that more efficiently and resonantly expresses what I’m trying to say.
Think of it as an intensive month-long poetry masterclass, inspired by some of the best poets in the business. If nothing else, you’ll end up with 30 first-draft poems!
Find out more at www.napowrimo.net.