Hey, so if you've stumbled across this page with no context, here's the context: my name is Tim Clare, and for the last two years, I've done a project where I write 100 and 101 poems in day, respectively. People send me suggested poem titles, then on the day in question, I sit down at 9am, and I've got until midnight to hit my target. I post each poem as I write it, sticking a link up on Twitter, so people can follow my progress as the day goes on, and even suggest poem titles while I'm doing it. You can see the last two year's efforts here:
100 Poems In A Day
101 Poems In A Day
Like all things, it is, at some fundamental level, a pointless task. I'm not trying to make some big statement about the nature of poetry, and you, because you are a smart, nice person, almost certainly get that without my having to spell it out. I do it primarily because it's fun, but also, yes, because other people seem to enjoy it, and I get some attention, and also it feels like a genuine creative challenge. When I'm actually in the midst of doing it, and I really need the toilet but I'm running behind schedule, I'm less enthusiastic about the project. But still.
This year I'm planning to do it on Friday November 25th. It's been on the 26th the two previous years, but that falls on a Saturday this year, and I'd like to do it when more people are at work and online. I'm going to shoot for 101 poems again, but this time, I'm hopefully going to raise a bit of money for charity too. More about that when I've got the online donation page up. Obviously the primary reasons I'm doing it are still entirely selfish, but, you know, if we accidentally accumlate a little money and awareness for a 'good cause' then that's probably a good thing, isn't it?
In the meantime, you might want to have a look back at my previous years' efforts, perhaps think up some poem titles you might like me to have a crack at this year. If you want to send me some suggestions, you can either DM me via my Twitter account, timclarepoet, or you can email me: joshureplied [at] yahoo [dot] co [dot] uk
