The 3-Ring Circus

Yes. It’s wild. And dangerous. There are several death-defying acts. However, we hope this page helps you sort it all out and enjoy the poetry show under the Big Tent.

There are three rings:

RING #1 / Weekly prompts & weekly gatherings to collect responses (“Come One, Come All”)
This is where we are going to begin. Weekly prompts will be the first act to perform. The prompts will post on Mondays, and the “Come One, Come All” calls for responses will post on Fridays. (This schedule gives everybody one weekday plus the weekend to link their poems and read the poems of their fellow circus-goers before the new prompts post on Mondays.)

RING #2 / Poetry gongs (multi-day writing challenges) & revision activities
As the weeks go on, we will add activities like “Poetry Gongs” (commitments to write every day for a set number of days; also known as “writing challenges”) and “Revisionaries” (poets who decide to edit their work right out in public).

RING #3 / Columns, interviews & reviews
Columns, interviews and book reviews will join the act as soon as it makes sense. We believe this element of the site will grow organically once the rhythm of the site is established and participants begin to suggest additional content.

Even though it’s divided into three categories, it can still seem confusing because two or three activities may be going on at once. But don’t worry! You can access everything from the home page:

• The main page itself shows excerpts from the most recent five to 10 posts. Click on any of them to jump in on the writing or discussion.

• If you click on the black buttons below our headline, they will take you to all the posts in each ring. Conveniently, once you click through, the most recent posts are on the top. More than likely, these will be the activities community members are working on and talking about.

• The left-hand column contains tips and announcements.