Welcome to 30 for 30 Season 7

For the last 6 years, I have been presenting poets, famous and unknown, one each day, during the month of April in celebration of National Poetry Month. This began as a project to attract people to my web site, a project I didn’t think would gain much traction. Instead, it has become quite popular, almost, I think, a tradition. Poets throughout the country and, indeed, from overseas, await this annual presentation of poetry and inquire, usually at the beginning of the year, if there will be yet another one.

From the beginning, my intention was to present poets regardless of skill or fame: to give those who might not otherwise have an opportunity to present their poems and their unique voices. A call goes out in March and the first 30 people who respond are included. (Last year, due to the call for 2-line poems and the overwhelming response I received, I decided to accept 60 poets and presented two each day).

At first, there was no theme nor were there any rules. As the years went by, I decided to start challenging everyone. In 2018, we had our first theme: “Love in the Age of Alexa.” Then came the 2 line poem. This year, I have asked everyone to present a revised poem using certain criteria: taking the original poem and deleting every fifth word, revising the poem and presenting it in stanzaic form (couplets, tercet, quatrains, etc.)

So each day this month, you will see an original poem and its revised version, something I am calling Re(En)Vision.

And, as been the case for the past couple of years, we will have a judge, David Lotte, to determine the best poem in its Re(En)Visioned form and, thanks to John Wang, editor of Potomac Review, the winner will receive a one year subscription to the journal.

A hearty thank you to all the poets who are participating this year and to all of you who visit and read and comment.

As we navigate these uncertain times and try to cope with isolation, sickness and death, let us hope that poetry can bring a bit of light to our lives.

I hope you enjoy this year’s presentation.

Mike Maggio