Happy birthday to New Note Poetry.
This year has thrown a lot of challenges at me, but my love for New Note Poetry and what it represents keeps me going. I recently poured my heart out on social media about some worries I had about New Note's future, and I got a huge swarm of support. I cannot thank everyone enough for their willingness to help. Poets truly are a community.
Rest assured, New Note Poetry has no signs of stopping. Obstacles are challenges. Mistakes are learning opportunities. New Note Poetry has done wonderful things for me and other poets, so I am willing to stand up to whatever life throws at me.
Now, here are some "new notes" about New Note Poetry:
New Note Poetry continues to be read worldwide. Our top 10 countries this year were the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, India, Philippines, Australia, Nigeria, South Africa, Germany, and South Korea. Poetry knows no borders.
I am sad to announce that readership has been down 36%. This is an issue I want to address directly and share my plan. First, I am going to be more diligent with social media marketing. Second, I will redesign our website to be more interactive while still visually appealing to readers. Third, a mobile version of New Note Poetry is in the works that will drive accessibility. New Note's poets deserve to have their work read by as many people as possible, and I am taking full responsibility for doing so.
Despite the readership issue, our submissions have increased! Many poets respond to our philosophy of poetry being the jazz of the written word so well. And as I always say, the worst we can say is "no." By the way, our submissions are currently open for Winter 2023. You know what to do!
To celebrate our 2nd anniversary, we are holding our 4th reading livestream! This is a great opportunity to see New Note's poets in action. I will act as your host introducing each poet and giving some comments about New Note as a whole. I hope to see you all there on our official YouTube channel.
My visions for New Note Poetry are still ambitious: I want us to be at the forefront of modern, forward-thinking, experimental poetry.
Thank you for being with us for another year., and I'll see you at the livestream. You know the website.
Nathan Nicolau
Founder/Editor-in-Chief