Tuesday Poem 3rd Birthday Communal ‘Jazz’ Poem (2013)

It begins on April 2, 2013 here, crosses the globe, and ends April 23, 2013 at the same place. Yes, Tuesday Poem is three years old and the Tuesday Poets are taking part in another global birthday poem that spans 9 cities and 4 countries: NZ, Australia, the US and France. 

Eighteen of the thirty Tuesday Poets are taking part. The Tuesday Poem blog began in NZ but has spread to five countries including the UK. The 30 poets take turn to edit the hub on Tuesdays and have posted a range of exciting poets and poems over the three years as well as some fascinating commentary. The top viewed poems are: 

When the Sister Walks by Sarah Jane Barnett (NZ)

Bomb by Sian Williams (NZ)

Love by Eavan Boland (Ireland)

Dippity Bix and Chimpanzee by Kath and Kim (Australia)

My Life by Linda Hejinian (US)

With most readers coming from NZ and the US, and 10,000 hits a month. 

At the same time, the Tuesday Poets post poems by themselves or others they admire on their own blogs which are linked to the hub. The result: thousands of Tuesday Poems loose in the world. It is described on the site as an 'open mic in the blogosphere' where visitors can discover known and unknown poets and get an insight into their work. TP also acts as a supportive community for the poets who are part of it - with poets encouraged to post their work and to visit and comment on each other's poems. 

It is curated by two NZ poets - Mary McCallum of Wellington and Claire Beynon of Dunedin. The two women met online (over a poem) and have only met each other face-to-face twice. They've worked hard to keep the community alive and fresh. 

'We're very excited by the communal birthday poem this year,' says Mary. 'In the past, poets have contributed line by line over a couple of weeks, but this year we're letting the poets go a bit more. It's like a jazz composition with poets rostered to contribute a stanza each per day over the next three weeks -- one that picks up the rhythms and phrases and words of the previous stanza(s), improvises and shows his or her individual voice as a poet. Harvey Molloy of Wellington kicked off with two lines this morning, and Helen Rickerby of Wellington is posting tomorrow at 10. And so on.' 

'There’s no theme this time,' says Claire, unlike other years when we, for example, explored the origins of the word Tuesday. One may arise, but rhythm and language are the focus.'

Mary and Claire thank all readers and supporters of Tuesday Poem, but most especially they wish to thank the Poets who are part of the community, and have been part of it, and the many who have generously allowed their work to be shared. 

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–    Check the unfolding poem