In his essay “Glutton for Punishment,” Benjamin Percy writes, “I feel most vitally alive when I bleed, shake off a punch, walk away from a car accident, stand perilously close to the edge of a chasm.” Agreeing to spend April writing 30 poems, which will be published for the world to see, is kind of like standing close to the edge of a chasm, right?
A glutton for punishment and pain, I’m excited to announce that I was chosen to participate in Tupelo Press’ 30/30 Project, which invites a handful of volunteer poets to write 30 poems in 30 days. The poets agree to have their work published on the 30/30 site, no matter how rough the draft.
Why am I doing this? Two reasons:
1) I love a challenge. As we all know, “April is the cruelest month,” and I have trouble motivating myself to do much of anything on the less-than-springlike days. I’m looking forward to being challenged and inspired.
2) I hope to raise money – my goal is $500 – for Tupelo Press, “an independent, literary press devoted to discovering and publishing works of poetry, literary fiction, and creative nonfiction by emerging and established writers.” Can you believe that independent presses like Tupelo publish 98% of poetry, translated works, and fiction by emerging writers?
Please sponsor me in my journey to complete 30 poems in 30 days. By donating any amount of money or by subscribing to Tupelo’s regular subscription series (10 books for $129), you are helping keep a literary press alive. When you donate, please specify “in honor of” and insert my name “Laryssa Wirstiuk” to show your support for my writing efforts.
As a token of my thanks, I’ll be offering the following rewards to generous donors:
$5: I’ll send you an exclusive link for early access to a video documentary I’ll be making about my 30/30 journey.
$20: I’ll mail you a thank-you card with a handwritten version of your favorite poem from the 30/30 Project.
$50 or more: I’ll write a poem for the 30/30 Project inspired by your prompt – be as wild as you like!
Once you make your donation, please forward your receipt to lawirstiuk [at] gmail [dot] com, so I can send you the reward!
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