The Extended Hour
Unpacking the madness of a 24-hour creative sprint—one poem, one prompt, and one day at a time.
Twenty-four hours. Twenty-four poems. Have you ever wondered what happens when you push the creative mind past its ordinary boundaries and into the realm of pure, caffeinated instinct? That is the 24-Hour Poetry Marathon. Participating in this year’s marathon was a whirlwind of adrenaline, exhaustion, and unexpected breakthroughs. Racing against the clock forced me to silence my inner editor; there was no time to second-guess a metaphor or obsess over a line break when the next prompt was already knocking at the door. It was a grueling, chaotic, but beautiful reminder of what we can be capable of creating when we simply refuse to get in our own way.
To honor the intensity of that 24-hour sprint, I’m slowing things down for the aftermath. Over the next 24 days, I will be sharing the fruits of that marathon right here—one poem a day, paired with the original prompt that sparked it. It is a way for me to decompress from the madness, stretch out the clock, and give each of these pieces the room they deserve to breathe in the open air.
I’d love to have you along for the ride. Consider this an open invitation to look behind the curtain of a frantic, beautiful day of writing. Let’s see where these 24 days take us.