New Years Message from Bill
I remember way back in 1999, thinking to myself, 'Wow! Here we go into a new century.'
Now, here we are, about to enter the 2nd decade of the new century.
As I have said many times before, when I started the Poets Pub, I never expected it to last through the first year, let alone still be around as a new decade looms over us. But, as the past year has shown me, the Pub is still around, and as strong as ever. Even though many of those who were here in the beginning have not passed through our doors for a while, we are fortunate enough to have many new people continue to visit our establishment and keep the flames of inspiration lit.
2019 was a great year for the Poets Pub and I am more than confident that 2020 will be an even more exciting year. Mystres Myna and myself have lots of new ideas for the new year and hopefully, with help from our amazing family of poets, we will be able to incorporate those new ideas and make the Poets Pub an even better success than it already is.
A re-entry into the social media scene, with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram should expand our presence beyond the walls of Wattpad and hopefully introduce us to a new audience of Poets. Sona and Myna have decided that the Poets Pub should step out of the dark ages and enter the light of social media.
New ideas and directions for our monthly challenges are coming up as well as a new approach to our poem a week challenge.
A renewed emphasis to introducing new poetry styles and a mentoring system are in the works. We are even looking at a system of critiquing poetry, if a member so desires.
An updated 'Behind the Bar', is in the works as is a revamping of the 6th edition of the 'Chatter'.
A new addition to our editorial family is in the works for the Pub and some new directions for our sister sites is in the works.
Myna and I will be working diligently to assure that the Poets Pub stays fresh and interesting and that the legacy we are creating will continue on.
All in all, 2020 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the Poets Pub.
On a more personal note, I want to thank each and every Pubber for our most exciting year so far and I hope that the same excitement, encouragement and inspiration is carried into the New Year.
And I hope that each and every Pubber has a wonderful, safe, healthy and prosperous 2020 and that your dreams and wishes become a part of your everyday lives.
Thank you one and all, from the bottom of my heart and I raise a glass (or mug) to each and every member of our family. For if nothing else, we are all family.
Happy New Year.
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A New Year's Message from Myna
I think my favorite thing about the New Year is the sense of renewal, of new beginnings. It is the time of year we not only look back, but we look forward. We take the time to reevaluate our lives, see where we might make changes for the better and even try and commit to making those changes. Many times, those commitments fall to the wayside, but I put merit in the idea that we at least try to make things better. My wish for all of you this New Year, is that you will find a way to make your life better, happier, more fulfilling. I hope you wake up on January 1, 2020 with a renewed sense of hope and an eagerness to make 2020 the best year of your life.
Bill and I have looked back and now we are looking forward. We believe we have some great ideas to make 2020 the best year for the Pub. We have many new plans and we are going to do our best to bring those ideas to life for all of you.
I would love to be able to thank each of you individually for your enthusiasm and encouragement, you all, are the heart and soul of the Pub. Thank you for making 2019 the best year for the Pub....so far!! Cheers to all of you wonderful Pubbers!! I wish you all a very Happy New Year, filled with blessings for you and your families!!
Happy New Year!!! To one and all!!
FEATURED POEM
A Changing of the Guard
By lyttlejoe
Father Time consulted his watch
An expensive Patek Philippe
The hour he awaited would soon arrive
And he watched the minute hand creep
As the calendar moved from nineteen to twenty
He felt the past year in his bones
And he re-checked his announcement bells
For any dissonant tones
Where was the young replacement
By now he should have been here
It would be unconscionable
To have him do another year
The minute hand shifted
It was only seconds before his time would end
He couldn't just ring his bell and walk away
What kind of message would that send
Wait! I see him now
His twenty-twenty banner and his cone shaped hat
No wonder he was almost late
With all that baby fat
He showed little New Year his ticking watch
Only seconds left to go
The past was slipping from his sight
There was so much new to know
Take my hand my little friend
Together we'll ring in your year
Wishing all the world around
A future of peace, love and cheer
PUB-VERSE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Poets Pub
POET OF THE YEAR
This is it, Pubbers, the moment you have been waiting for!!!!
We are ready to announce our 2019 Poet of the Year!!
A HUGE THANK YOU, to everyone who participated in the contest as well as those who read and commented on the poems.
All our judges agreed that this was the hardest contest they have ever had to judge; the quality of the poems was simply outstanding!!
So, without further ado....drum roll please....
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
3rd Place
@MichaelTyger
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
2nd Place
@AwSprite
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
It is with great joy the Poets Pub would like to congratulate our...
2019 Poet of the Year
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~ @Gadralneure ~
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!!! CONGRATULATIONS !!!
As I mentioned, the judges had a very hard time in choosing a winner, however they were in agreement that Gadralneure's poems were well constructed, embodied the prompts given and over-all were extremely well written.
NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS –
Don't forget to send in your New Year's Resolutions poems. We will get them posted here in our collection. It is always fun to look back over the year and see how you fared with those resolutions.
JANUARY 2020 –
Our first contest of the new year will start on January 1st, 2020!! We will send out an announcement when it is open for submissions.
January is going to be all about new adventures!! We plan on making 2020 our best year yet!! We have plenty of new things in the works for you in the new year. As Bill mentioned, the Poets Pub is now on social media. We encourage all of our members to find and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The links well be down below in the comments and they are also on our home page here on Wattpad.
Poets Pub Facebook Page - www.facebook.com/Poets-Pub
Poets Pub Twitter - https://twitter.com/pub_poets
Poets Pub Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/poets_pub/
PUB CHATTER –
Next week we will be starting our 2020 Pub Chatter, be sure to add it to your reading lists, so you don't miss out on any new information. Below is a preview of the cover. We will be rolling out a new format to go along with the changes we are making here at the Pub. Each month (January through August) we will choose a theme and it will be the focus for the monthly contests, the Chatter, as well as the Poem-a-Week Challenge. Our January theme is going to be all about ADVENTURE!!
POEM A WEEK –
Our Poem-A-Week Challenge will start anew, January 1st, 2020. We are going to work it a little different this year. Each week in the Chatter we will give you a prompt for the Poem-a-Week Challenge. So, you will need to check back each week to get your new prompt. We will also have a participation sticker as well as a completion sticker and certificate for those who choose to join and complete the challenge.
If you have been a part of this challenge in 2019 and wish to continue, let us know and we will put you on the participants list for 2020. To participate challenge, all you need to do is create a book on your own profile for the challenge, let us know what book it is and then start writing. You can also send in your poems to include in our collection here. Please PM us if you take on the challenge so we can add your name to the participants list.
We want to send out A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO ArcadiaM for completing the 2019 Poem-a-Week Challenge with her book:
Whispers to the Stars: a senryu collection
PLEASE STOP BY AND SHOW HER SOME LOVE!!
Our December prompt is up and we invite everyone to stop by and participate!!
We already have our first entries for December, stop by and let the authors know what you think.
If you haven't stopped by to read our Write the Story entries yet, I would highly recommend that you take a moment to check them out!! Then consider send us your entry as well!! If you know anyone that might be interested in this challenge, please, don't hesitate to pass on the information.
Every month I will be posting a new short story writing prompt along with several words to use in the story. The stories will completely vary in genres. Please check out our contest book for full details!
Lyttlejoe's Busted Gulch Volume 12:
CG was having reservations about being Lucus' godmother as was about to turn Myna down when large commotion came from the kitchen. Everyone began running out the door with Gyn yelling not to leaver her behind. And with that we came to the end of Volume 12 of Lyttlejoe's Busted Gulch!! Please join us for Lyttlejoe's Busted Gulch Volume 13!!
Volume 13 starts off with a BANG!! Not the kind you would think for a town of the old west, a wedding!! All the commotion in the bakery was AJ and Loren deciding to get married!!! With Gyn, Myna and the twins, CG and Sheriff 3Gun in tow, AJ and Loren headed over to the town hall to have the Mayor preform the ceremony!! Petra got her Secret Santa pick and it was her father Denver. It seems both of them are looking for answers and forgiveness. Petra and Denver began to have a heart to heart, Denver revealing some of the dark secrets held by their family. It seems that Talulah Grey was Denver's half sister and Petra's aunt. It was a bitter pill to swallow and Petra was furious to find out the truth.
If you want to find out what's next, head on over to The Storytellers Saloon and check out Lyttlejoe's Busted Gulch Volume 13!! Don't forget to add it to your reading list, new chapters are posted daily!
We are having our FFF Write-off to determine the Master of Flash for 2019. Starting today and lasting into January of 2020, we will be inviting past winners of FFF monthly competitions to send us a new story to add to the Masters of Flash collection. The collection already will include all the winning entries from all contests since September 2018, when the FFF was introduced.
Each winner will have the opportunity to send us a new story of their choice to include in the collection. We then encourage all writers to reach out to their followers and have them check out the entries in the competition, as the winner will be determined by fan votes.
The winner will be announced at the end of January 2020.
As part of the Pub-Verse of sites, we encourage all Pubbers to drop by the FFF and take a look. The Flash Fiction Forum has struggled to gather new followers and we ask ll Pubbers to support one of their sister sites.
OLD/NEW/CONTINUING WORKS
If you would like to share any of your old/new/continuing works on your personal profile, please send us a private message and we will include it here.
PERSONAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
A Message from @naomimrshl
Well... we all know I'm gonna mess this up and embarrass everybody... like those folks who get up and sing at talent shows - when the last thing they should do is sing.
But I'm gonna do it anyway and thank you, Myna, for the space.
Last year, I had a crazy orphan of an idea bout an Elf who takes a year long adventure-filled walkabout. He was kinda burnt out by Elf life, and figured he needed a break.
The challenge was this: one line for each day in 2019.
That didn't last long... nor did the idea of each chapter be'n a month long.
I got starstruck when two giants came along and picked up my little orphan, brushed it off, and showed me how to do it right : )
My only rule was no rules... and that one stuck. We call it bare-knuckle writing ... and it is, simply, the most fun I've ever had with words.
During this year, while the two giants played a remarkable kind of word/tennis game - fast and furiously funny - I've stayed out of a lot of trouble chase'n their lobs and try'n to keep up : )
Also, this past year, we have lost family and friends, suffered medical speed bumps, and listened, with compassion, as each of us survived the emotional, and physical, obstacle course called 2019.
During the time I could not see, my friend read me their daily entries... sometimes laugh'n so hard I had to ask her to repeat. But behind the laughter, every single day, was an encouragement to get well, come back, and write.
My two giants... two heroes... showed me that, even in this world of words, there is honor ... and that stay'n upbeat is the high road.
On December 31, right on schedule, we are gonna end Elf's adventure... each of us... and each in our own way.
I'd like to invite you to join us, on that day... not just to mark the end of a book but, more importantly, to celebrate the real joy of a friendship made of words.
I've taken up way too much time and space... and there is still more that wants said... but I'll save that for the last chapter.
And to my giants, @silenttomorrows Steve and @LyttleJoe Joe... it's been quite a fine journey... quite a fine journey, indeed!
Later, gators
You can find the Elf Chronicles here:
Elf Chronicle 2019 - Volumes 1 and 2 at @goodyarns
Hosts at goodyarns are @silenttomorrows and @naomimrshl
Elf Companion - Chronicle Drawings and updates by @lyttlejoe and Naomi
Authors list @silenttomorrows @lyttlejoe @most_bay and @naomimrshl
If you would like to share any personal announcements, birthday, anniversary, Wattpad anniversary, new books published or anything else, please do not hesitate to send us a Private Message and we will get it in here.
WORLD POETS
Poet of the World
Winter Solstice
Poem by Anonymous
When you startle awake in the dark morning
heart pounding breathing fast
sitting bolt upright staring into
dark whirlpool black hole
feeling its suction
Get out of bed
knock at the door of your nearest friend
ask to lie down ask to be held
Listen while whispered words
turn the hole into deep night sky
stars close together
winter moon rising over white fields
nearby wren rustling dry leaves
distant owl echoing
two people walking up the road laughing
Let your soul laugh
let your heart sigh out
that long held breath so hollow in your stomach
so swollen in your throat
Already light is returning pairs of wings
lift softly off your eyelids one by one
each feathered edge clearer between you
and the pearl veil of day
You have nothing to do but live
POETRY PROMPTS
Prompt #1 – Write a poem about the moment the clock ticks over to 2020.
Prompt #2 – Write a poem using 4 random words you find around your home.
Prompt #3 – Write a poem about your goals for the new year.
Well...this brings us to the end of another Chatter, the last one for 2019. I want to send all of you a virtual HUG and thank you from the bottom of my heart for the tremendous support you have shown me this year!! It is an honor and a privilege to bring the Chatter to you each week and I truly hope you find value in it each week. I pray that each of you and your families, have a prosperous and productive new year!!
Remember to keep those pens and keyboards flying!!
Cheers from your Mystres of Chatter
MystresMyna