Hello readers, writers, dabblers, artists, and web surfers! 

I wish you all a happy, happy new year! However, for many of us, a happy 2017 seems nigh impossible given the political circumstances here in the USA. And that's partially what I want to talk to you about today: what you can expect of Floodmark in the coming years and where we stand, given the current political environment. Let's get that out of the way first, shall we? Then we can discuss the 2017 Reading Resolution Challenge, and exciting forthcoming projects.

Floodmark was founded on the idea of inclusivity, and now more than ever we are committed to it. We believe that creative writing serves everyone and should represent everyone. That means this site is a safe space for all, and we have zero tolerance for hate speech or anything that makes other readers feel unsafe. Our commitment to that is unwavering. This is a space for people from all backgrounds, ethnicities, races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, beliefs, and (of course!) writing skill levels. We welcome you to our space on the internet, and hope you will find inspiration, support, and perhaps a smile while you're here. If you ever find yourself triggered by anything on this blog, please speak out! Nobody is perfect, and we expect to make mistakes. You will find a very receptive and responsive team of editors ready to learn, make amends, correct the mistake, and be better editors and people moving forward. You can find our Contact Information here.

While we're on the subject of contact information -- if you ever have anything to talk to us about, we're around. If you want to ask "What's up?", we'll tell you what's up. If you want a book recommendation, we've got you. If you're looking for guidance or want to see something on the blog or need a friend to talk shop with, we're here. When we say "creative community", we're not just saying it. That's always been the beauty of Floodmark: we are writers, just like you, and we're on the other side of the computer. Not hiding, but waiting, writing, thinking, laughing, crying, binge-watching Netflix, eating too much sugar, and generally doing all the same things you're probably doing. So get in touch! We'd love to hear from you.

While we continue our commitment to inclusivity, we want to do more than open up our space. We intend to get more involved. (If you've got an idea for a partnership, contact us!) We started to do this in 2016, if you recall Floodmark getting into the classroom to lead creative writing workshops at Loyola University's Q-Summit and our visit to the Center on Halsted in Chicago. (You can read all about it here!) We want to do more of that. And this brings us to the 2017 Reading Resolution Challenge. We'll be seeking out the many brilliant writers who have been historically marginalized in the USA -- Native American, Black, Latinx, Asian American, Arab American, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Atheist, Women, LGBTQIAP+, and immigrant writers. Every month, we'll publish a round-up of writers that we've had the pleasure of reading. Share it. Send the poems to family, friends, whoever. Let these writers be heard. True, it's a small act. But when we actively seek to read outside our own experiences, or focus on finding writers who aren't being heard, we make a tiny difference. We build a bridge, brick by brick, poem by story by essay. We should celebrate our differences as well as our similarities. Diversity is what makes humanity -- and thus literature -- so beautiful. Sometimes people forget that. Let's remember it in 2017.

We challenge you to not just read these writers, but to give them your time, attention, and make room in your life for their voices. Perhaps you will disagree with some of them. All we ask is that you know why you disagree -- respectfully. The art of respectful disagreement is one that all writers and readers should be studying closely in an age where disagreements escalate so easily to violence and "otherness". And while we're on the topic: we reject the "other" in 2017. We (and you) can and will be better than this. We owe it to ourselves and everyone we share this world with not to make "others" out of people who are different from ourselves. We are all writers here. Live by the golden rule and treat each other how you'd like to be treated. We encourage you to comment on social media and/or the blog posts, send us an email, whatever is easiest. Tell us what you think.

What else can you expect in 2017? Lots of excitement and inspiration! We've got a couple projects under construction that we hope to launch by mid-year. The most exciting project we've been working is our soon-to-be self-paced, online open course called "Poetry 101". Don't be fooled by the name; poetry veterans will find things to take away from this course, too! We'll be providing video lectures, reading lists, and prompts in each module. There will be 10 modules in total, each covering what we see as the foundation of good poetry. Learn the ropes with us, or hone your craft. You can submit your poems for feedback from each other and us throughout the course. Pretty neat, right? We're hoping to launch the course in the Spring.

The Editors will also continue our monthly reading series on SoundCloud, which you can find here. Each month, we'll all select pieces (poetry, non-fiction, fiction, etc.) that fit a seasonal theme. (For example, January's theme is Winter.) We'll record ourselves reading, and pow! Story time for you. Now you can get your daily dose of poems/stories/essays while you're driving, mowing the lawn, or doing something else equally boring.

There are more things under construction, but this should give you a good idea of where Floodmark is headed in 2017. By the end of the year, we hope we'll have made an impact, and helped you get some good writing done. Stay tuned!

All the best & brightest,

Pssst, read Alexandria's other articles on Floodmark here.

Dear Readers & Writers,

It's me again! You might remember me from my last Letter from the Editor.  I know, it's been too long. But I'm here now, so let's talk.

After a very long, challenging, and hopefully inspiration-filled National Poetry Month, it is finally (finally!) May. Phew. We here at Floodmark got our poetry on and had an all-month rager in front of our computers typing up poetry prompts and articles for you. Naturally, May comes as a welcome relief.

We are all 100% this duckling right now, am I right?
(source)

It's also a great time for reflection on not only this past month's journey, but also our journey with creative writing. Take a moment to recognize how far you've come as a writer -- in the last year, the last six months, the last month, the last five minutes. With every sentence, you're becoming a better writer. And we here at Floodmark are so honored to be able to feed your creativity and help you on your way. You could call it our mission here.

So, if you're feeling like our little duckling friend, let's take a second to lay our heads on our notebooks and take a well-deserved nap. You've conquered yet another National Poetry Month. You've been tested by fire and have come out of the kiln a beautiful ceramic pot. And yes, even that metaphor was a little tired. *Yawn*

On second thought, let's pick this pep talk up after a power nap.

(source)

Where were we? Ah, yes. Post-nap pep talk.  Poets, Writers, Artists, Readers, Dabblers, and Friends, your presence on Floodmark during National Poetry Month has turned out some pretty amazing stuff. I'd like to take a moment to give a mental round of applause to our tireless editors: 

Vernon Meidlinger-Chin, always a joy to read, has done such a fabulous job this month bringing more voices onto Floodmark. This month, thanks to Vernon's talent at bringing together artists and writers of all types, Floodmark was lucky enough to feature two such voices: Madeleine Wattenberg's piece "Tossing Away the Key, Reading the Locked Poem", and Brooke Austen's piece "Poem in the Bedroom". Both are not to be missed. If you've already read those, I suggest you check out Vernon's latest installment in his series "Idylls of the Khan".

Alyssa Froehling yet again brought us a wealth of inspiration from a variety of places. From video games, to artwork, to photography, she covers it all. You can check out her gorgeous photo project and poetry prompt featuring the legend of Persephone,  her beautiful piece on the power of a poetic community, her exciting piece on her favorite video game and what inspiration is to be found there, or her poetry prompt discussing memory and featuring the artwork of Sarah Shaw. There is always something for everyone in Alyssa's pieces, and I hope you've enjoyed the magic she's pulled from the everyday for you this month.

Rukmini Girish brought us advice every writer will find applicable in their lives this month. And amid the flurry of writing, often times these important things are forgotten. Luckily for us, we have Rukmini to remind us as she navigates the same waters. Whether she's bringing awareness to the literary playing field for translators and translated works, giving us the basics on writing a successful pitch letter, or reminding us to find a patch of grass and soak up the sun, Rukmini is always looking around in her own life and experiences as an MFA student to bring us fresh perspective on the writer's life.

Padraic Price focused his enthusiasm and energy on sharing a few of his favorite poems with us this month.  If you've never read "The Desiderata" or "Stopping By the Woods on a Snowy Evening", you'll want to after you read Padraic's posts. Read along with him and get some fresh insight on two classic pieces of poetry. Ask yourself -- what poems have influenced you the most as a writer? A more important question during National Poetry Month there never was!

Gary Miller, our resident video and sound expert, has been off on a wonderfully strange journey with Floodmark and his own production company, Best Worst Cantina.  This month, he worked on putting together our beautiful National Poetry Month reading series, featuring Gary, Alyssa, and Rukmini. If you're looking for some sounds to inspire you, look no farther than these lovely people reading the poetry and prose that inspires them.




And last, but certainly not least, the maddest props of all go out to our tireless social media manager, Kelsey Kammerzelt. Thanks to her amazing presence on our social media channels and behind-the-scenes work, you have Floodmark delivered to you daily in your newsfeed, on your pin boards, and more. What would we do without her? Perish, probably.


And of course, where would we be without you, our lovely readers? (Answer: nowhere. Seriously. We'd be crazy people talking to ourselves.) We applaud your work this month, and especially the amazing poetry that you've been submitting to our White Elephant Poetry Contest! Which, by the way, is still going on! We've extended the deadline to this Friday, May 6, so submit before it's too late! We're so excited to start reading and sending you feedback. As an added bonus, we'll start work on our bi-weekly email newsletter soon -- so stay tuned for more Floodmark news delivered straight into your inbox. (If you submitted to our contest, you're automatically on the mailing list. If you didn't, you can subscribe using our handy little sign-up form on the right-hand side of the blog!)

It's been a huge, insane, beautiful, sleepless, wonderful month. And we wouldn't have wanted to share our inspiration, our challenges, our advice, and our voices with anyone else. Thank you for another wildly successful and fun National Poetry Month.


Now let's all get some sleep, for real.

Read more of Alexandria's work on Floodmark.

Of course I quoted The Lord of the Rings. What do you people expect from me by now?!

Dear Readers,

If you're reading this, you may have noticed we've had some work done. Now, now, don't be shy -- no need to deny it. For our first birthday, we treated ourselves to a good ole fashioned facelift. But don't worry, this isn't some 'Toddlers & Tiaras" type shit. We've learned a lot in our first year of life.

Can't you people appreciate our new, exotic cheekbones? Sheesh.

Like anyone we've fallen flat on our faces, dusted ourselves off, and then tripped over our own shoe laces. (If we're being honest, we've done this numerous times.) And like anyone, we spat out the dust and made it into something worthwhile. Speaking of dust, Picasso once said "Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life." I'd argue that art also washes the dust from everyday life. There is inspiration in the ordinary, in the I-see-your-face-every-damn-dayness of the world. Life inspires art, even the dull and most un-noteworthy moments of our lives. 

This is what Floodmark has learned. That you reading this post is something so ordinary that it's extraordinary. To think that I made the decision to keep Floodmark going day by day, post by post, for 365 days and that you're sitting here absorbing that fact. Maybe you're like "yeah yeah get ON with it already, ya boob". Maybe you're like "Cool beans". But let me tell you what I'm like:

It took me 24 years of life to feel like I might be able to make a difference. And then Emily and I started Floodmark. Even if 90% of the time I was throwing pebbles of inspiration into the void of the Internet, the 10% of the time I caught someone's attention brought an exhilaration close to love. And that's why, after one year of trial and error, I am ready to present to you the new and improved face of Floodmark. 

Although the redesign may seem like the most drastic change, the fabric of Floodmark has shifted as well. We went from a two-woman show to a one-woman show to welcoming six editors with diverse, incredible voices onto the site. (If you want to know more about our new faces, check out our About Us page.) Each one of them responded to my offer, in which I told them I could offer no payment but my own boundless enthusiasm and a platform for their words, with their own enthusiasm. How lucky am I to find such people? 

And that's just the point. You have now also found these people. You're one of the lucky ones. Together, we can form the community we're always searching for in the dusty Poetry sections of bookstores, in the kinda-sorta pretentious coffee shops. We don't need bongos or turtle necks or any of the stereotypes. The modern poet defies stereotypes. The modern poet draws inspiration from the world, a world that now includes GIFs, Facebook, Smart Phones, Red Light Cameras, and Robot Vacuums. To pretend that our poetry ignores these things, sees only the graceful lines of trees and sensuality of collar bones, is a lie. 

We are a band of not-so-exclusive modern poets. We are whatever and whoever we want to be. We wash the dust from the everyday, and color outside the lines. We hope you'll do Floodmark the great honor of being the sledgehammer that breaks the dam and lets inspiration flood your mind. (And yes, this is one of those moments -- we're saying the name of the movie in the movie. Get it?) We hope that each time you write with us, share your work with us, and join our conversation, the line marking the flood gets higher. 

We're up for the challenge. How about you? 

***

Whether you're an accomplished poet, a dabbler, or simply a creative personality, Floodmark aims to provide inspiration using a variety of media, prompts, quotes, discoveries, oddities, angles, and voices. In short, we aim to open the conversation of poetry outside of academia. Our mission is to provide you with an interwoven community of inspiration and support. We encourage the beauty of claiming poetry as your own, of pushing back against the work of others to define your own boundaries, of finding life & poetry in the most unexpected places. This website was founded on the belief that poetry is an endless surprise, waiting around corner to embrace you or punch you in the neurons. Our best and brightest wish for you, reader, is that you experience both during your time here.