2026 News

[Angeline]

Hello poets! Here it is almost Thanksgiving In America, with the December holidays and the end of 2025 fast approaching. That means it's time to firm up plans for 2026.

First off though thank you all for your contributions to the forum over 2025. The Poem-a-Week thread is thriving, Smiling_Lez has given us great Halloween and Thanksgiving challenges as well as her Choka thread. Jocelyn gave us her successful Tanka thread (with help from Alina and many others), and Red Lantern the Sijo thread which I've so enjoyed, Niv Kay has explored non-erotic poetry. All these are drawing more folks to the forum and that's the best thing that can happen imho because we learn from and support each other. I am grateful for each and every one of you, the new folks and the ones who stick around or show up periodically. It really is a privilege for me to write with all of you.

Yeah I know. I'm cheesy but also sincere.

So in 2026 we will have a Poem-a-Week challenge. It'll begin on 1/1/26 (or sooner if I can manage to post the thread before then: I know some of you like an early start) and follow the same rules like poems only (I'll amend the 2025 Poem-a-Week Discussion thread title to include 2026 so we can just continue posting challenge adjacent material there), and write what you like as often as you like or can. It's all good!

There will also be a 2026 Revision-A-Week challenge where you can take an old poem of yours and rewrite it. I think this thread should allow comments and feedback because they're an important part of revision. And this thread too will encourage weekly entries, but more or less frequent submissions are fine too. Whatever works for you. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions about this thread.

Of course everyone is welcome to post in those challenges, any of our other ongoing ones, or start new ones. My only advice would be to check the threads to make sure you're not duplicating a prompt that's already in place (like Everyday Erotica or The Five Senses Challenge, for example).

Please feel free to share your ideas and recommendations for 2026 here. All comments are welcome. This place succeeds because all of you are here.

 

[SmilingLez]

Hello poets! Here it is almost Thanksgiving In America, with the December holidays and the end of 2025 fast approaching. That means it's time to firm up plans for 2026.

First off though thank you all for your contributions to the forum over 2025. The Poem-a-Week thread is thriving, Smiling_Lez has given us great Halloween and Thanksgiving challenges as well as her Choka thread. Jocelyn gave us her successful Tanka thread (with help from Alina and many others), and Red Lantern the Sijo thread which I've so enjoyed, Niv Kay has explored non-erotic poetry. All these are drawing more folks to the forum and that's the best thing that can happen imho because we learn from and support each other. I am grateful for each and every one of you, the new folks and the ones who stick around or show up periodically. It really is a privilege for me to write with all of you.

Yeah I know. I'm cheesy but also sincere.

So in 2026 we will have a Poem-a-Week challenge. It'll begin on 1/1/26 (or sooner if I can manage to post the thread before then: I know some of you like an early start) and follow the same rules like poems only (I'll amend the 2025 Poem-a-Week Discussion thread title to include 2026 so we can just continue posting challenge adjacent material there), and write what you like as often as you like or can. It's all good!

There will also be a 2026 Revision-A-Week challenge where you can take an old poem of yours and rewrite it. I think this thread should allow comments and feedback because they're an important part of revision. And this thread too will encourage weekly entries, but more or less frequent submissions are fine too. Whatever works for you. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions about this thread.

Of course everyone is welcome to post in those challenges, any of our other ongoing ones, or start new ones. My only advice would be to check the threads to make sure you're not duplicating a prompt that's already in place (like Everyday Erotica or The Five Senses Challenge, for example).

Please feel free to share your ideas and recommendations for 2026 here. All comments are welcome. This place succeeds because all of you are here.

The revision thread is a great idea. Perhaps including the original poem/prose with the revised version will give us readers insight into the poet's creative process.

Revision thread shines,
Original meets the new,
Creative paths shared.

 

[Angeline]

The revision thread is a great idea. Perhaps including the original poem/prose with the revised version will give us readers insight into the poet's creative process.

Revision thread shines,
Original meets the new,
Creative paths shared.

Yes, I was thinking that too. It'll help to see what changes people are making.

 

[Tzara]

There will also be a 2026 Revision-A-Week challenge where you can take an old poem of yours and rewrite it. I think this thread should allow comments and feedback because they're an important part of revision. And this thread too will encourage weekly entries, but more or less frequent submissions are fine too. Whatever works for you. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions about this thread.

I like the idea of a revision thread, though I doubt I'd want to try to add to it every week. But, as you say, that isn't a requirement. I especially like the idea of the poems, comments, and feedback being embedded in the same thread, as I find switching back and forth between poem threads and comment threads distracting, though I understand the reasoning behind it.

Anyway, I'm just trying to make it to the end of the year for the 2025 poem a week. Keeps me writing, though.

 

[42BelowsBack]

Hello poets! Here it is almost Thanksgiving In America, with the December holidays and the end of 2025 fast approaching. That means it's time to firm up plans for 2026.

First off though thank you all for your contributions to the forum over 2025. The Poem-a-Week thread is thriving, Smiling_Lez has given us great Halloween and Thanksgiving challenges as well as her Choka thread. Jocelyn gave us her successful Tanka thread (with help from Alina and many others), and Red Lantern the Sijo thread which I've so enjoyed, Niv Kay has explored non-erotic poetry. All these are drawing more folks to the forum and that's the best thing that can happen imho because we learn from and support each other. I am grateful for each and every one of you, the new folks and the ones who stick around or show up periodically. It really is a privilege for me to write with all of you.

Yeah I know. I'm cheesy but also sincere.

So in 2026 we will have a Poem-a-Week challenge. It'll begin on 1/1/26 (or sooner if I can manage to post the thread before then: I know some of you like an early start) and follow the same rules like poems only (I'll amend the 2025 Poem-a-Week Discussion thread title to include 2026 so we can just continue posting challenge adjacent material there), and write what you like as often as you like or can. It's all good!

There will also be a 2026 Revision-A-Week challenge where you can take an old poem of yours and rewrite it. I think this thread should allow comments and feedback because they're an important part of revision. And this thread too will encourage weekly entries, but more or less frequent submissions are fine too. Whatever works for you. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions about this thread.

Of course everyone is welcome to post in those challenges, any of our other ongoing ones, or start new ones. My only advice would be to check the threads to make sure you're not duplicating a prompt that's already in place (like Everyday Erotica or The Five Senses Challenge, for example).

Please feel free to share your ideas and recommendations for 2026 here. All comments are welcome. This place succeeds because all of you are here.

That nailed it. The revision thread and set up are a fabulous idea.

 

[Angeline]

I've been thinking it might make sense to make the two challenges, Poem-a-Week and Revise a Poem, either/or. So that means you'd only write one poem per week in either of those two threads. Of course you could write more or, if your muse needs a break, less.

What do you think?

 

[42BelowsBack]

On the poem a week. Keep the target as 52 poems: The goal being to consistently write with regularity i.e. habit forming. A solid writing habit is key to developing as a poet and a writer. Best of all it doesn’t matter if we reach 52 poems or not. The pressure and freedom to do so or not is perfect.

Therefore, I think, count wise, keeping both separated works also.

You know better than I there is always a crop of new emerging talent on Lit. Which is always exciting. I see the poem self review serving the purposes of fostering personal growth. We can indicate if we want genuine feedback i.e. no requests for ass licking my poems please

Just my genuine opinion

 

[Angeline]

On the poem a week. Keep the target as 52 poems: The goal being to consistently write with regularity i.e. habit forming. A solid writing habit is key to developing as a poet and a writer. Best of all it doesn’t matter if we reach 52 poems or not. The pressure and freedom to do so or not is perfect.

Therefore, I think, count wise, keeping both separated works also.

You know better than I there is always a crop of new emerging talent on Lit. Which is always exciting. I see the poem self review serving the purposes of fostering personal growth. We can indicate if we want genuine feedback i.e. no requests for ass licking my poems please

Just my genuine opinion

It's a good opinion. I think we've all experienced personal growth as poets over the past year. I see it in others more than myself lol but that's normal for me. And it's true we don't have to either write or revise a poem every week. The 52 thing is just a suggestion, encouragement. I'm personally more interested in revising right now so maybe I'll be more focused on that than producing new stuff.

As for the quality of feedback, well that has been an issue since I first joined the forum in the paleolithic period. I doubt people who just want praise will invest much in revisions but we shall see.

 

[SapioSexual9]