Here’s what you get when you Google “national poetry month hiv aids 2017”
Missing: hiv aids
That’s right. HIV and AIDS are literally, virtually, digitally, really and truly missing from the celebrations of poetry going on this National Poetry Month 2017.
I’ve been wondering what Indolent Books and our fiscal parent, Indolent Arts Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) charity, could do for National Poetry Month that was different from what everyone else was doing. SHAME ON ME for not thinking sooner of our own HIV HERE AND NOW PROJECT.
THIS is where we need to focus our efforts for National Poetry Month 2017 and it’s many poem-a-day-for-30-days projects…
…all inspired by my dear friend Maureen Thorson, the founder of NaPoWriMo, (National Poetry WRITING Month) an annual project in which poets attempt to write a poem a day for the month of April.
So here’s the deal. Anybody who wants can write an HIV/AIDS poem for NaPoWriMo and submit it via our Submittable site. We will post one of those poems each day of April. Today, April 1, is going to be a challenge, because it’s already 6:48 pm EDT…but I know this will all work out in the end…it always has, it always does, it always will.
Since we can only post one poem per day on HH&N, we encourage you to post your own poems elsewhere—on your social media feeds, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, your blog.
In addition, we will be including a DAILY PROMPT along with each day’s poem. You do not have to use the prompt, but you are welcome to if if will help you write. WE REPEAT: To quote Maureen Thorson, the doyenne of NaPoWriMo, “The prompts we post each day are totally optional. Use ‘em if you like ‘em; ignore ‘em if you don’t.”
Here is today’s prompt:
Write about a person who died of AIDS who meant a lot to you. The person can be a well known public figure or someone in your own personal life. Anyone.
For inspiration, you might look at the following poems from the HIV Here & Now project archives
D. Gilson, “Triolet for Uncle Dennis”
Jeffery Berg, “Anthony,”
Daniel Nester, “Four poems from God Save My Queen II”
And that’s it. We are hereby participating in NaPoWriMo.