Celebrate Non-Profit Publishing and Women Poets

Dear Friends and Family,

You may have heard about this latest crazy project of mine, a "marathon" with nine other poets, writing a poem a day to increase public interaction with poetry and raise funds for Tupelo Press, a non-profit literary press. For eighteen years, their mission has been to publish new voices. As a participant in this project, they are giving my work some exposure, and bringing me into a community of over 350 alumni helping each other publish our work. Welcome to the 30/30 Project!

I am also using this project as a means to increase public awareness of the female poetry canon. Each day I will read a different woman poet and write a poem in response. (More on this project in a separate document if you want details.)

As you can imagine, it is a big risk to put fresh work on public display before I have a chance to sit with it, write, rewrite, and eventually share. Any words of encouragement are greatly appreciated! You can follow my daily work, and that of my fellow poets, here: https://www.tupelopress.org/the-3030-project-3/

I invite you to sponsor me. Here are ways you can support me, Tupelo Press, and women poets:

• A per poem rate, for instance, $1/poem x 30 poems = $30.
• A one-time donation at any level.
  
• A Tupelo Press subscription - receive a year of poetry books, delivered to your door, free shipping.
  

Further Incentive: In exchange for donations, I offer the following:

• $25 – $50 – "insider scoop" get the "behind the scenes" stories - notes on the inspiration and creative process for the writing of each poem once project is done.
• $50-$75 – typewriter poem (an impromptu poem typewritten on the spot, inspired by questions from the poet)
• $100-$150 – hand-bound book of all completed poems, in all their rawness, once project is done.

Independent literary publishers produce over 98% of poetry being published each year, and the majority of literature in translation and works of fiction by emerging writers. Today you have a chance to help one of the few and best non-profit independent publishers we have to survive and continue putting more poets into print. Here is a taste of what you will be supporting:

The Million Line Poem – check out the guidelines to be part of this project: https://www.tupelopress.org/the-million-line-poem-guidelines/

Tupelo Press Sunken Garden Poetry Prize – a prestigious national poetry chapbook contest judged by renowned poets such as Martha Collins, Patricia Smith and Tony Hoagland. https://www.tupelopress.org/sunken-garden-poetry-prize/

Tupelo Press Snowbound Chapbook Award https://www.tupelopress.org/snowbound-chapbook-award/

Free reader's companions for some of their books available for download! https://www.tupelopress.org/free-readers-companions-2/

Writing Conferences! https://www.tupelopress.org/tupelo-press-writing-conferences/

Teen Writing Center in partnership with the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities https://www.tupelopress.org/teen-writing-center/

I don't know where I would be were it not for my poetry family. I hope you consider supporting me, and this amazing press.

Sincerely,

Bethanie Humphreys