Call for A National Write Out

http://natlwriteout.org/

The time to expand the country’s literary and political imagination is upon us. Join many of the country's leading storytellers, poets, and creative nonfiction writers in a National Write-Out #Natlwriteout

Wednesday, January 18 through Saturday, February 18, 2017.

Writers and non-writers alike recognize the election of Donald Trump as an unprecedented threat, one that demands we deploy our craft and words in the service of justice. We call on writers-poets, playwrights, essayists, short story of the world to unite by joining poets, authors, playwrights, essayists and other writers participating in the National Write-Out.

Who: You. Everyone who writes, draws, thinks, dares, creates…

What: Write or share a poem, a piece of flash fiction, short story, essay, inspired long tweet, handwritten ars poetica or other literary creation responding to this prompt:

What’s fighting for is worth writing for.

How: Publish your work (suggestions below).
Then use Hashtag #Natlwriteout anywhere in the text to link to the movement.

When: Now. Let your words stand against the flood of fake news, messages of hopelessness and hate, and the normalization of extremist thought in the early days of this new administration.

Using the hashtag #Natlwriteout, we want to invite and incite writers to create literary works that rise boldly to the challenge of the day.

We also encourage nonprofit organizations, literary magazines, zines, blogs, and other publications and organizations across the country to embrace the call and promote the work produced under the #Natlwriteout hashtag. Several national organizations will be sending out the call to their members. Please join them. We know that the very ideas, stories and values that stand boldly against infringement on our rights and freedom will also inspire and ultimately save us.

How to Share Your Words and Join the Movement:

Snapchat, Instagram love: write a handwritten love poem to what’s worth fighting for, take a picture of it and then share it using the #natlwriteout hashtag

Do you use Facebook? Do you have an old short story you think speaks to the current moment? Create a link to it and then share it using our #Natlwriteout hashtag with your friends and with the larger “public”(the little world near the bottom of your post).

Do you keep a blog? Write an essay and then share it on your favorite social media platforms with our #Natlwriteout hashtag to your Wordpress, Tumblr or other blog.

Twitter much? Our hashtag is there for your creative tweets. Create a 130 character #fightofourlives haiku and then share it using the #Natlwriteout hashtag

Prefer a more literary venue? Add our hashtag to your published work, or host your work on open publication sites, such as Medium.com

SMS users of the world unite! Write a poem and share it with all your contacts using the #Natlwriteout hashtag

Feel free to contact Us at fightandwrite@gmail.com to keep informed and learn more.

(The National Writeout is a student-led initiative born during a brainstorm held by students at the Antioch MFA program, the country’s only social justice-focused MFA program. For more information email us at fightandwrite@gmail.com.)  

*A special thank you to poet Sesshu Foster for sharing this information with La Bloga