So if you’ve been paying any attention at all, you know I’ve got this thing for the number 143. Two years ago, I had this idea that I still think is super cool, which is to combine my attraction to the number 143, my interest in poetry, and the idea that many of us read books. I started promoting people submitting me to me poems they create by blacking out words on page 143 of books they loved or were reading. The end result is a poem.

Learn more here.

Just before leaving on vacation this summer, someone who has become an important friend, Mina Vafaeezadeh, who happens to be the roommate of Stephanie, Melinda’s and my niece, sent me what I call a “Page 143 Poem.” I’ve just now posted it to the blog I keep for that purpose, the first such submission in over two years. Maybe you will find inspiration in Mina finding inspiration in this concept. If you want to submit, all I ask is you send me three things:
– Your finished poem
– A picture of page 143 of your book with your poem highlighted and the other words blackened out.
– A short description that could include who you are, the importance of the book, what your poem means to you, what’s happening in the book at that time, or really anything that appeals to you.

For you folks in France who follow this blog, feel free to send me Page 143 Poems in French, too!