100 Substack Poets Collaboration:

PILOT IS COMPLETE!

Dear Aishwarya Kannan, Amruta Chaphekar, Apurva, Untamed Eulogy, Dr Pooja Laddha, Lavi, ma_hesh tewatiya, Mani, Melinda V King, Pratiksha Yadav, Renu Chakravarthy, Rinchin Tiku, Shubham Upman, The Flaming-Jen [Jenna], Usha.

Our 100 Substack Poets Collaboration: PILOT POEM is complete! Can you believe it?

Sixteen of us have come together to create this beautiful poem. Have a look (poem below). I think it’s wonderful. To me, it feels as though, while playing our individual tunes, we have collectively created a symphony. I’d love to hear what you all think.

(If you are new here and wondering what this is about, you can read about the project on the link below.)

100 Substack Poets Collaboration.

Important note:

I made some minor corrections to the poem (mainly punctuation and capitalisation). I have used sentence case rather than line case. Hope that’s okay with all of you. Please check your lines, and if anything isn’t right, please send me a DM. Also, please check that your name and Substack handle are correct. If I don’t hear from you in the next week, I’ll assume you are okay with everything.

Lessons learned from the Pilot:

a) If more than 10 people are tagged in a post, some people do not receive a notification. Fortunately, we won’t face this issue once we begin working on individual themes, as no more than three people will be tagged at any given time.

b) To ensure that all poems occupy roughly the same amount of space in the book, I suggest setting an individual contribution limit of 3–5 lines.

c) I had not defined the line length for the pilot, which resulted in some very long lines. I tried to manage this by asking the poets to reduce a bit. But going forward, I’d say we should have a rule limiting the maximum to 10 words per line. This will help create a degree of consistency across the poem while still allowing for individual expression.

d) We should also add a rule stating that each poet may contribute only once to the project. The goal is to bring together 100 unique poets, and since many of us know one another, there is a risk of duplication. I will add this clause to the submission template and will ask theme leads to check with contributors and confirm that they have not already participated in another poem within the project.

Call for theme leads:

I would now like to invite volunteers to lead a theme. At the moment, we have five volunteers: Apurva, Aishwarya Kannan, Shubham Upman, Sara da Encarnação and Swaraj Sharma. I hope I haven’t missed anyone; if I have, please send me a DM. Including the pilot, we are looking for four more theme leads. If you are interested, please reach out to me via DM.

Before volunteering, please make sure you are comfortable with the theme lead responsibilities mentioned below:

1. Propose a theme and write the opening lines of the poem.

2. Establish any theme-specific rules (in addition to the standard project rules) and ensure they are followed.

3. Ensure the chain runs smoothly and concludes with the 10th contributor (don’t forget to count yourself).

4. Confirm that each contributing poet has not already participated in another poem from this project.

5. Ensure that every contribution is submitted using the template I will share with you separately. This is important because the template contains the legal disclaimer.

6. Compile the final poem (as I did for the pilot; see the example below).

7. Collect screenshots of every contribution. This is important for legal protection. I will explain the process separately to all theme leads.

8. Submit the compiled poem (as a Word document) and the 10 screenshots to me via email.

New joiners:

During the pilot, some new poets reached out to me to join the project. I will share their names with the theme leads and kindly ask them to help bring these poets into the collaboration.

What’s next:

a) I will announce all the theme leads and themes in the next post.

b) Once individual themes get going, I will start defining parameters for the charity partner. Share them with all of you. Those of you with recommendations can nominate charities based on those parameters. Then, we’ll have a poll to pick one.

c) After that, I’ll call for artists to volunteer for the book’s artwork.

100 Substack Poets Collaboration: Pilot Poem.

Theme: Memories

She wanted to erase all of them.

But first, she wanted to resurrect them. Like

a painter resurrects dreams and nightmares.

Soham

@sohamauthor

Imagining a new outcome with every stroke,

erasing years of tears,

packaging into oblivion all her fears,

a silent spectator of everything she lost.

Aishwarya Kannan

@author23ashk

Thinking to herself of all that it cost—

the fear, the tears, the ache, the pain.

She kept thinking about it, drenched in rain.

Amruta Chaphekar

@femmesparkle

With tears trickling down her face,

she let them wash her away

as they welled in pain.

Apurva

@apurvatudekar

As I melt in the eternal fires of hell,

as the demons strip away every bit of my existence,

all that remains will be the love I had.

Untamed Eulogy

@untamedeulogy

Beautiful memories drift through my mind,

echoes of our laughter gently unwind,

and if one thing I leave behind,

may it be the warmth we shared in time…

Dr Pooja Laddha

@inkedfromtheheart

The countless moments I still call mine,

our footsteps in paths we climbed.

Your smile, even on ordinary days,

my love hidden in a thousand ways.

Lavi

@lavicore

Maybe I forgot what you said,

but I remember those laughs

when I called you mine,

and life crushed to a black shine.

Let me cry just one more time.

ma_hesh tewatiya

@stranger2many

As my heart longs for you like a fire,

the tears won’t quench the pain.

Memories won’t be burned to ashes.

I cannot rise like a phoenix.

How do I start my life afresh?

Mani

@mani674382

I want to throw my past against the wall.

I sprint hard to outrun my shadow,

I burn fast into the new dawn.

Finally, I float, head back on salty waters, and gaze at the stars.

Melinda V King

@melindavking

That gaze brings hope, light, and wonder.

In that gaze, I see myself crystal clear,

naked, aloof and liberated.

I choose to march ahead,

not away from your memories but with them

Pratiksha Yadav

@growinside

Because memories are where we are one,

though we may be distinct entities in reality.

And when I morph them into these words, I can relive you and I

through the remains of my life, even when my memory fails.

Though at times, I wonder what reality is!

Renu Chakravarthy

@whatilearntthisweek

Moments slipping like sand, or the replayed memories,

Perhaps reality is what we choose to carry from the past.

Maybe I keep writing us down so that old us is not lost.

Rinchin Tiku

@rinchintiku

But lost upon whom?

For the past is but a drawn-out corpse.

Minced dead meat rolled into a rope, its stench covering today’s yards.

I must not oscillate on the string of memories,

a guilty convict hung on to the past.

Shubham Upman

@shubhamupman

The future awaits, on wisps of clouds,

demons of old consume every sacred breath of now.

A curse infiltrates each chance—violating every dream’s vow...

I summon love’s might, blurring times divide with chasmic light,

The Flaming-Jen [Jenna]

@theflamingjen

Tasting the memories that rise like blossoms into grace,

I loosen those that struck my life to shattered, frozen remains;

The joyous echoes shall expand my soul’s tender inner space,

The ghosts that darken my heart, I offer back into Agni’s flames.

Usha

@sacreddawn