Dear friends,

This June will see the 12th 13th annual Lexington Poetry Month. That means we’ll be seeing the 13th annual LexPoMo Writing Challenge. Sign-ups have opened up this morning at 12am EST; if you tried to sign up at that time, then you probably know that they actually opened up at 12:10am when I fixed a bug caused by a security plugin.

As we all know, technology is just as frustrating as it is helpful. And that will likely be a theme this year, whether any of us intend it that way or not.

The 13th year will bring exciting announcements, which I’ll leave to Christopher McCurry’s forthcoming (upcoming?) welcome post and email, which includes info about our awesome new sponsor at James Baker Hall Foundation. But for the kick-off to the season, I wanted to get more personal.

This might come as a bit of a surprise, but I don’t like technology. That doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy my work as a software developer or that I experience constant anguish while tapping away at plastic letters plugged into a springboard. What I mean is I am “tech agnostic” in the sense that the brand of operating system or the logo on my laptop matters little compared to how it connects me to people. So I only care about technology because it helps me and the people I care about.

That being said, when technology hurts people, I switch from “apathetic” to “antagonistic.” I have strong feelings about tech platforms who openly promote neo-Nazis or virulent bigotry. I hold no water for bad-faith arguments disguised as curiosity. As a life-long player-of-games, I’m also a student of how gaming communities in particular have formed alienation and frustration into napalm against marginalized people.

But this isn’t some feature of technology we must woefully accept as we embrace its benefits. Technology has the power to hurt us because we’ve given it that power. Whether we’ve allowed communities to turn hateful through inaction or by promoting systems which reinforce toxicity, we (as a society, maybe not you specifically) have a role to play. And from that hard truth comes an optimistic outlook: the same tools which harm society can heal it, too.

Okay, that’s maybe a little overly optimistic and saccharine, but I bring it up because I think this is important: this website is only valuable because of the people who use it.

Because the internet is global, it leads to anonymity. By creating a space for neighbors and local friends to share their words, Katerina Stoykova helped foster a space where technology can bring people together instead of keeping them siloed in their echo chambers. When someone comments on your poem, you probably know them in the real world. Yes, “the internet” is the real world, but so many people treat it like a dollhouse full of Barbies waiting for an electric razor. When I hear that someone’s poem made someone else cry, that’s beautiful; the fact it happened on a website instead of at a coffee shop is simply a matter of logistics.

So with the twelfth thirteenth year of Lexington Poetry Month and the LexPoMo Writing Challenge, I want everyone to embrace the folks around them. (Not literally, for everyone, but also, literally for anyone who wants to.) Never forget that the names on the screen, even without profile pics, are your co-workers, teachers, pastors, siblings, and doctors. They are musicians and nerds and punks and ventriloquists and film buffs and sports fans, and everything else that makes up a diverse community.

And also keep in mind that, as of this moment (but not for much longer; more details coming soon) there are exactly two people who may receive your message about the site – me and Christopher McCurry – and we both have work-week jobs. That means we may not respond immediately 8-5 Monday through Friday. But also, that doesn’t mean we don’t care. In fact, rest assured we want to hear from you.

Even if it’s a problem with the site, or with other users, let us know. We want to handle all situations in the most humane, compassionate way, and all we ask is a little grace.

If someone writes something that offends you, remember they probably didn’t mean it personally. And if it violates the community guidelines, it will definitely be handled. If you want to make sure it is seen, please contact us.

If you find a poem of yours isn’t appearing on the site and think you may have been unfairly censored, please check your email’s Spam folder to see if you weren’t already contacted. And if you weren’t, remember that we aren’t trying to force you to accept some secret ideology and maybe there’s a mix-up in communication.

Remember that we host people from all backgrounds and all ages, and others may not have you in mind when writing a poem. So if a 16-year-old boy writes a poem mentioning some R-rated things, and you’re a 40-year-old woman, maybe reconsider your comment with a winky-face emoji. Only say the kinds of things you’d say in-person, at a live reading, in front of the poet’s loved ones.

And if you think someone else is copying your work and even sharing it on Tumblr or Bluesky, let us know, even if you think it’s me. I make no money off this site (intentionally, mind you; please don’t offer) so I don’t gain anything from starting a war with my accusers.

Ultimately, this site and its posting system and comment system, and everything else, is designed to help the people I care about. New features will keep that in mind, and the lack of new additions is also designed around that. For example, the only reason we don’t have a public Discord server is because I don’t want people to be able to send private messages to others on this site because that can invite predatory behavior. (That is, after all, one reason National Novel Writing Month fell apart.)

And most importantly, don’t forget that you and your work matter. I never would’ve thought I’d have spent 13 years giving a space for others to express themselves, even if I do relatively little the rest of the year. You can make a difference by simply reaching out and making connections; don’t forget that.

So anyways, thank you so much for letting me rant. I have no doubt this year’s will be the biggest community of any LexPoMo Writing Challenge, and I can’t wait to see everyone who joins!

Sincerely,
Bronson O’Quinn

P.S. I recently used my modest tech skills to make a relatively static resource for Kentucky Writers. If you know of any literary orgs, events, places, or publications in Kentucky, please help me help you spread the word.