The 24 Hour Poem

What happens when you invite poets from all around the world to a party that lasts all day? If you plan it right and advertise it right, you just may come up with The 24 Hour Poem. That was the plan two years ago when the staff at LitKicks announced The 24 Hour Poetry Party to celebrate their 10th anniversary. They started things off by contacting a few renowned poets and writers and asking them to write original new work for the event, but the bulk of the 24 Hours poem was written extemporaneously online hour by hour by the site”s visitors. The poems written by the “notables” can be found here.

Litkicks has been reporting on and participating in the world of poetry online and off since 1994. The site has grown into a multipurpose and well-used resource for the poetry community online. The principals behind LitKicks report news, plan and host poetry and literature events and serve as a touchstone and home base for an active community of participants. They openly admit to being New York-centered, but reach far beyond to attend and be part of events throughout the country as well as reporting the poetry news from around the world. A particular favorite part of Litkicks for me is Levi Asher”s Reviewing the Review, in which he capsulizes and comments on The New York Times Book Review, sometimes applauding a well-placed slam and sometimes taking the critic to task for letting sentiment get in the way – or not.

Litkicks may be New York centric, but it”s definitely not just for New Yorkers. If you”re looking for a good read about literature, poetry and criticism, this is the place to find it.