The April Write started in 2008 as a result of Angela Edgar’s renewed interest and passion for creative writing – writing poetry to be exact. When she discovered that in America, the whole month of April was dedicated it, there and then she decided she wanted to do something to celebrate it in Great Britain too, not knowing that her country had its own version of it in October.
Thus the April Write was born as her way of honouring National Poetry Month.
“National Poetry Month is a celebration of poetry first introduced in 1996 by the Academy of American Poets as a way to increase awareness and appreciation of poetry in the United States. It is celebrated every April in the United States and (since 1999) in Canada as well. Since 2000 Great Britain has celebrated a National Poetry Month each October.”
(Source: Wikipedia )
It started off as a lonely blog by Angela on a website called The People’s Lounge (TPL) and soon interest grew with people replying to her posts with their own poetic replies which caught the attention of the site owner Wilhelm Derksen who prominently featured her blogs and joined in himself! Then, in its second year Angela expanded it to MySpace and the last two years on Facebook. Due to the intense amount of energy, preparation and planning needed, Angela only hosts it in April every year.
“I want to show that people from many different backgrounds could come together in the name of poetry to create something wonderful.
In essence, the April Write is a mass poetic collaboration which lasts the whole month of April. It is a writing challenge which encourages you to practice writing every day for thirty days, by contributing a piece of original work you are the author or creator of and have come up with in response to the daily theme or something you have read or seen within the April Write.
Whatever your discipline, I wanted the April Write to feel like a creative home away from home for you, where even if you don’t contribute, you are free to come and read, to soak up the wealth of positive vibes. You may even find that the AW helps you through a tough period in your life by giving you something else to focus on or it can help you get out of a writer’s block and build your confidence to share your work in a nurturing arena.
There are no rules to the April Write, but instead merely a set of guidelines, because I wanted it to be a place where creativity and inspiration reigns supreme and people can come and go… to connect, develop new skills and positively influence each other in honour of National Poetry Month.
The April Write challenge guidelines – of which there are only three and they are:
- *EVERYONE is welcome.
- ** Please RESPECT each person’s right to creatively express themselves. (Any discriminatory posts will be removed).
- *** Above all… RISE to the challenge… make new friends… ENJOY YOURSELF & HAVE FUN!!!”
Taken from: “The April Write:
Celebrating National Poetry Month 2008-2010″
by Angela Edgar
(2011,Mad Jock Publishers,UK. ISBN 978-1-906439-55-2)*
In 2012, for its 5th year, Angela will host an April and October Write Poetry Olympics Special on WordPress, celebrating the fact that London (home city of her birth) will be hosting the XXXth (30th) Olympiad.
*The April Write book is available signed, sold direct from Angela Edgar.
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The April Write 