Poetry Year - Background

As told by Noora Peura (founder)

Richard P. Gabriel and NaNoWriMo

The idea for Poetry Year 2005 was born while I watched a panel discussion at OOPSLA 2004 (an international conference on object oriented programing languages). One of the panel members, Richard P. Gabriel, mentioned that he had written a poem every day for the past four years.

I took this as a challenge. Having participated in NaNoWriMo twice I knew I couldn't resist challenges like this. I also knew that doing this together with many others would be more fun than doing it alone.

The idea was developed further during NaNoWriMo 2004, and by the end of November 2004 the rules were set and this simple website was created.

The Eternal Question: Why?

The why and how of Poetry Year is up to each participant. For me it is an opportunity to see how much poetry there is within me. Also I admit freely that I really look forward to having a collection of 365 poems written by me at the end of the year.

My previous experiences from challenges like this have been very positive. They can teach you a lot about yourself, and they can be a great boost to your self esteem. I will not promise that you will get any of this by participating, but I hope everyone will find it rewarding in one way or another.

Credits etc

The Poetry Year website is currently hosted by Stacken Computer Club.