14 Words...a project you can join!

As you know I've been limiting my time online, especially Facebook. Reading status updates, writing comments, looking at photos, joining writing groups, reading calls from literary journals--it's all well and good but the intended 15 minutes turns into 30 or 40 or sometimes an hour. And while I sit in front of my little laptop, there is a great big world out there waiting to be explored. It makes me wonder why I even go on Facebook.

So, this morning I went for a long walk. Then it started to rain. Soon it was pouring. I rushed back home. I did some wash. Tidied up a bit. On Wednesday my daughter only has school in the morning, so soon I was cooking lunch. And the day went on. I went into town to run errands and did anything but go on the computer.

At 9 PM I finally decided to take 15 minutes (and only 15 minutes--which I managed to do) on Facebook. I read my messages and a few status updates and then...hey, what's this? One of the women in my writer's group (Nancy) posted in a group called 14 Words for One Love on Valentine's Day. I had never heard of it. I clicked on the page link and noticed my friend Paula was also taking part. Now I had to read the description and find out what this was all about.

The project is hosted by Jodi Barnes and is a public event. So anyone can join. (And yes...I did.) Perhaps you might be interested in doing so as well. Here is the description for 14 Words for One Love on Valentine's Day.

On Thursday, Feb. 14, I will hand out small (14-word) poems --any form--to people on the streets of Durham, Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, and Carrboro, NC. Will you help me in one of two ways?

1. Write a 14-word poem (doesn't need to rhyme or take a specific form). Because "14 words" has a repulsive association with white supremacy, I'm ready to help turn "14 words" into one unifying hopeful piece of love for ONE WORLD, ONE RACE, ONE LOVE. Write 14 words about love--anything related to love, kindness, peace--and post it/them here, let them go, and know that another human being you (probably) don't know will read your little poem(s) and then, who knows?!

2. I also need volunteers to help me distribute the 14-word poems I hope to collect here! MY GOAL IS 1400 POEMS!! If you live anywhere in the Triangle and can take an hour shift somewhere, I'll make sure you have printed out poems to hand out! If you live in another state, you can still help!! Please write some 14-word poems and ask your friends to! No need to "be" a poet. And everyone, REPOST this, please!
 

Please FEEL FREE TO DO THE SAME EVENT WHEREVER YOU MAY LIVE OR WORK. 

Fourteen words. That's all you need to write. Not a sestina or a villanelle or rondeau. Not a long novel or even a first chapter. Nor a flash fiction piece. Only 14 words. Interested?

If you are on Facebook, here is the link to join this event. )

That brings me back to Facebook again. I must admit, it is the easiest way to keep in touch with family and friends back in the states. I guess another reason is things like this. Through Facebook I have taken part in daily photo projects, donated work to poetry anthologies that raised money for charity, joined a random acts of  kindness challenge, learned of writing contests, and so much more. I guess it all depends on how you use it. At least I am not spending my time on there using countless apps (which I noticed some people do).  

Well, that's all for now. I have a writing deadline to meet tomorrow. After that task is completed, I can write my 14 words. Fourteen words on love. The possibilities are endless.

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To visit the blogs of my friends Nancy and/or Paula, click on their names in the text above. To visit the blog of Jodi Barnes, do the same. To read the bio of Jodi Barnes and learn more about her chapbook Unsettled Poems, click here.