Dear poets and poetry lovers,

Poetry is not a trend, but rather a force in the lives of so many. I’ll refer to poetry as everything from an art form to a distraction.
  I know poetry and prose has the attention of so many souls, but you never see it “trending” on social media platforms; as in you never see #poetry on the trending lists like #kanyeloveskanye #cutekitten #dogonskateboard #presidentialerror, or any of the worthy (or worthless) events that capture the imagination of those who follow life on the tiny screen.
  Often (especially during Poetry Month), I will Tweet + Retweet poetry, AND encourage others to do the same. Poetry that lights us up is worth repeating, thus worth retweeting. Still, even with all the heightened activity during April, you still never see hashtags #poetry or #npm17 on the trending lists.
  I think we can change that.
  Now, I’m not sure how the algorhythms work, or how many Tweets it takes for a topic to “trend”, but we can all do something to influence the numbers.
  Next weekend, April 29 + 30 (the final days of POETRY MONTH) I ask that we band together to Tweet + ReTweet poems, poets and poetry (as many as you can, as often as you can) and use the hashtags #poetry + #npm17. These are the hashtags we regularly use (some of us more than others).
  Let’s flood Twitter with words worth reading. Think of it not only as increasing attention of poetry, but raising the consciousness of this delightful form of expression.
  The Twitter action has already increased over the past couple of week, and as we approach next weekend it will surely pick up (certainly if I have my way). It’s probably worth beginning this process early so we can build momentum. I’m starting now . . . and you can even ReTweet this message as you see it on your feed.
  I’m on Twitter @sayit4word, include me in your Tweet . . . and I do follow back. I look forward to hearing from you, reading your Tweets, and seeing how much difference we can make in these days of trends and trending.

deep peace
j.g.l.