The Morehead Writing Project’s Spring 2022 Writing Marathon will kick off Feb. 21-25 and we have just one question for our writing community: are you ready to write, craft, and publish some small poems with us this spring?
Small Poems: Great Writers is open to all writers of all ages in our Morehead Writing Project community. We hope Morehead WP teachers will involve their students of all ages and we hope our adult writers from preservice to retired teachers and those who just love to write will join us too. SIGN UP TODAY using this form.
Morehead WP leaders will prepare writing invitations and the opportunity to share writing, resources to guide the crafting of freeform writing into small poems, and critique and curation protocols to lead to publication. Teachers and writing group leaders will have the flexibility to adapt these resources, the level of sharing and connection beyond their group, and proposed schedule to suit the unique circumstances of their writing community, but we hope to create a connected community of writers spanning our region and beyond through this shared experience. Come join the adventure!
Small Poems: Great Writers will move through three 3-week stages:
- Create and Celebrate: Feb. 21-March 11
- Craft and Critique: March 14-April 1
- Curate and Publish: April 4-22
During the Create and Celebrate phase (Feb. 21-March 11) Morehead WP leaders will share a new writing invitation each week (three in total) offering our writers of all ages (primary to adult) the opportunity to explore and celebrate their individual identities through writing, art, and photography. Each community (writing group, classroom, school, or district) is encouraged to write and share within their community and will also have the opportunity to share this initial writing with the larger community as well via Google docs and social media if they choose.
Then during the Craft and Critique phase (March 14-April 1) Morehead WP will share resources to help writers shape that early writing into small poems (we define short form poetry as anything 9 lines and under, or any poem that uses 60 words or less). These resources will include strategies for word choice and poetic devices as well as introductions to a variety of short poetry forms to support writers of all ages. This phase will also include resources and opportunity to provide feedback to other writers within their community and beyond as they choose.
Small Poems: Great Writers will culminate with Curate and Publish (April 4-22) when writing communities will have the opportunity to curate digital publication of their individual small poems and a Small Poems: Great Writers editorial team will select poems from the digital publication for an anthology that we hope to publish in both print and digital form.
If you want to join the Small Poems: Great Writers community to write, craft, and publish with us this Spring then SIGN UP TODAY!
Leslie Workman of Fairview Elementary, Stacie May of Rowan County Middle; Seth Thatcher of Bath County High; and Deanna Mascle of Morehead State are planning this project so feel free to reach out directly with your ideas. Ask us if you need help convincing reluctant administrators about the value of this program to cultivate genius, develop essential skills, and create joy.