a last post
Welcome to our last community activity here at Poetry Thursday.
We would like to invite you to take a little time to wander through your own Poetry Thursday contributions and find one you want to share with all of us again. (And, to clear up any confusion, we do mean sharing a post from your personal blog’s Poetry Thursday archives.)
When you find the one you want to share, just leave a comment with this post that includes your link; you might also want to include some information about why you chose that post. The comments on this post will be open throughout the weekend/early next week, so feel free to come back and post when you are ready and make sure you also come back to click on to the other participants’ posts as well.
Thank you all for making this community so incredible!
Updated Thursday, September 13: The Poetry Thursday web site will remain as an archive until January 2008.
a (last) poetry thursday, thurday post
It’s Thursday! And, although it is sad that it is the last Poetry Thursday, it is wonderful to have a final Thursday to share poetry with one another.
Whether you tackled the last (completely and totally optional) idea, dipped into the idea library to find a prompt you hadn’t yet attempted, wrote a poem with no prompt, wrote some thoughts about poetry, or did whatever the heck you wanted (as long as it has to do with poetry), you all know what to do: Leave a comment on this post directing this community to your post on your blog. Then, just start clicking away at other participants’ links and get out there and enjoy some poetry!
And, don’t forget to stop by Friday for one last Poetry Thursday community activity where participants can share their favorite contribution to Poetry Thursday (so start thinking about what you might want to share).
Thank you all again for … well … for everything.
this week’s (completely and totally optional) idea ? an open window
The last (completely and totally optional) idea is here.
But, before I dive into sharing the details, I would like to say thank you to everyone who has participated in this project that began in February of 2006.
I am so grateful to the people who first participated and changed the way I read poetry.
I am grateful to Dana for volunteering to become my partner in this project and for the many hours, ideas, poetry knowledge, and work she has contributed. This project wouldn’t have been the success (not to mention the fun) it has been without her.
And, a huge thank you to all of you reading this ? those of you who have been participating in the project since the beginning, those of you who have been part of it for a while now, those of you who are new, those of you who have written columns on this site, and those of you who might not have participated but read the participant posts and shared your words through comments. To put it simply: You all have changed my life. Thank you.
Now on to the business of the last (completely and totally optional) idea. As Poetry Thursday comes to a close, I have found myself thinking in adages and cliches. (You know we aren’t afraid of cliches around here.) They just seem to be popping in my head. Phrases about endings and doors and chapters and all that stuff. And, as I reflected on some of my favorite (completely and totally optional) ideas, I kept coming back to the ones where we gave you a word or a line and you all ran with it in so many different directions. So, in the spirit of looking forward to spending a last Poetry Thursday reading all your interpretations of a line, here is this week’s (completely and totally optional idea: Use the line “an open window.”
Although I doubt you will need any ideas, just in case you do, you could think about using this line as the title of your poem or as a line within your poem. It could be the jumping off point for your own free writing that might then turn into a poem. The list of ideas just goes on and on…
As always, you can do whatever your heart desires on this last Poetry Thursday as long as what you share has to do with poetry. So, if this idea doesn’t speak to you, share something else. Just make sure you stop and spend some time in the world of poetry this week, either reading or writing, and tell us about it Thursday.
Oh and also be sure to wait until the Thursday post (we will post it at midnight PST) before sharing your link to your post. Feel free to comment on this post, please just wait for that permalink until Thursday.
And, of course, be sure to visit us on Thursday. Then check back Friday for our last post (which will include a final community activity and information about a new community poetry project).
the greatest of days is thursday
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to write something poetry-related on your blog and then share it with all of us here. If you chose to do this week’s (completely and totally optional) idea ? using the last line of a poem as a jumping-off point for a new poem ? great. If not, that’s just great as well. As long as you share something related to poetry, is all good.
Don’t get too carried away today and forget to check back this weekend for the final (completely and totally option) idea. While all the ideas shared here are optional, we have a feeling you might want to take part in this one. But that’s not all because Aug. 31 we’ll have one last post here where participants can share their favorite contribution to Poetry Thursday.
And, don’t forget that a new community poetry project is underway. More details will be shared in the final post on this site. Now get out there and start sharing poetry!
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A note: If you get caught in our spam filter or if your comment needs moderation, please be patient. We promise to get to it as soon as we can.
this week’s (completely and totally optional)
idea - last lines, first lines
Before I share this week’s (completely and totally optional) idea, I want to personally thank everyone in the Poetry Thursday community for their contributions to this project.
I also want to extend a special thank you to Liz for co-hosting the site and helping it flourish, as well as to the columnists and feature writers who put so much thoughtful consideration into their pieces that appeared here. It has been a wonderful experience coming together here every week to read, write, appreciate and learn more about poetry.
Thank you all again for this amazing community.
We’re down to the second-to-last (completely and totally optional) idea that will be shared here, and I thought it would be fun for each of us to take one of the poems we’ve already written and use the last line of that poem as a jumping-off point for an entirely new poem.
Sound like fun to you? Cool.
You might even find yourself so inspired that you write a series of cascading poems in which the last line of each poem becomes the first line of the next and so on and so forth.
What’s that? Some of you aren’t exactly feeling inspired by your own writing? Well then, why not (with proper attribution, of course) use the last line of a published poem as the first line (or even title!) of an original poem.
Um … you in the back ? did I hear you say you’ve never written a poem? Well, this is your chance to use someone else’s last line as your first line and try your hand at writing poetry. Why not?
(And … come closer because I want to let you in on a little secret … it’s only a poem. The stakes really aren’t that high. If you try this week’s idea, and you don’t like what you come up with, you can always scrap the poem and start over. Nobody has to know. There is really no way to fail. So go ahead: Let loose and have some fun with it. Shake things up.)
Remember, we’ll be posting the Thursday post at midnight Pacific Standard Time. Please feel free to talk about this (completely and totally optional) idea as much as you want here, but save the permalinks to your creations for the Thursday post.
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Another reminder: A new group site involving a number of Poetry Thursday participants is in the works. More details on this project will be forthcoming in the final post on this site.
a thursday post (and an announcement)
After almost 18 months, Poetry Thursday will be coming to an end the last week in August. We want these final weeks to feel like a celebration around here ? of the community of participants that makes up Poetry Thursday.
We have two more weeks of (completely and totally optional) ideas to share with you (so be sure to come back Saturday for the next one). Also, on Friday, August 31, we will publish a post in which you can link to your favorite Poetry Thursday contribution ? a poem or post about poetry that you feel especially proud of. That final post will give us the chance to connect with the community in yet one more way.
We are so appreciative of everything you have given Poetry Thursday, and we look forward to celebrating with you.
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And, as it is Thursday around here, you know what to do. Go ahead and leave your permalink to your Poetry Thursday post here in the comments. Then, please visit the blogs of other participants and share in the joy of poetry!
AN UPDATE: Since many of you have left comments asking what will become of this community, you should know that a new group site involving several Poetry Thursday participants is in the works. More details will be forthcoming in the final post on this site.
thursday, august 9
It’s Thursday! This means it’s time to write a poetry post on your blog and then share it with all of us. To share it, just leave a comment on this post to direct people to your blog (don’t forget to leave the permalink to your post if possible).
If you are new to Poetry Thursday, we are so glad that you have joined in on the fun! Please explore the site and the FAQ to find out how things work around here, and, of course, don’t hesitate to let us know if you have any questions.
Please note that the hosts are on a bit of a summer break (read more here) and will answer e-mails and so on as soon as we can.
Happy Poetry Thursday!
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A note: If your comment needs moderation, please be patient. We promise to get to it as soon as we can. Thank you for your kind understanding.