So this is going to be the blog where, on November 26th 2010, I attempt to write 101 poems in a day.
Last year, on the same day, I wrote 100 poems in a day. It was a peculiar, exhausting experience, complicated by the fact that, once you top 50 blog posts in a day, Blogger starts making you do a Captcha for every new entry, which cost me precious extra minutes.
The reason I decided to do it is because I'd become overly precious about my work - I'd lost that all-important will to just roll up my sleeves and get on with it, and not worry if nine-tenths of what I produced was unreadable bilge. Creativity comes from a spirit of play, and a willingness to risk being a bit crap. You can edit and refine and employ all those wonderful, necessary tools of critical discernment later on, but without that spark of carefree doltish naivety, I don't think you can truly innovate. Obviously quality trumps quantity in the last analysis, but who knows? Maybe I'll write the greatest poem of the last 25 years, one that will reunite sundered nations and make formerly morose insomniacs bray with joyous laughter before settling down for a deep, restorative sleep. It could happen.
My Twitter handle is @timclarepoet. You'll be able to follow my progress there, and I'll post each poem up on this blog as I finish it. All my poem titles are suggested by other people. If you have any ideas for poem titles, let me know! You can add them as a comment here or email me at joshureplied[at]yahoo[dot]co[dot]uk.
I hope you enjoy watching me push myself through this rather pointless spectacle. You can even join in, if you like! It would be awesome to have some other people writing alongside me.
