[Newspoetry] newspoetry daily poems to end Dec 31, 2002

[Editor-Within-Chief]

Newspoets,

This is it.  William originally planned for Newspoetry to end on Dec 
31, 1999, but I liked writing newspoems so damned much that I asked 
him if I could shepherd it into the future, and he very kindly gave 
me the site and the domain.  Now it's time for me to hang up my 
fedora and grind my cigar out in the Newspoetry ashtray.

This is so I can devote more time to writing and performing music.

The plan:
- Freeze the site.  No more daily newspoems, just indexes into what's 
there, and some new content (see below).
- Keep the list up.  That's where all the action is anyway.  There 
are and should continue to be other venues for Newspoetry, and there 
should be a place for people writing Newspoetry in those various 
venues to collaborate.
- Solicit some new content:
   - an updated history of newspoetry
   - essays on newspoetry and being a newspoet

Why freeze the site instead of having someone succeed me as 
editor-within-chief?  To keep with William's original idea of the 
project being limited and intense rather than continual and routine. 
Also, I don't feel that the site is mine to give to anyone; the way I 
see it, I've just been borrowing it from William and now it's time to 
return it to him.

Of course you all should go start your own poetry sites and mailing 
lists about whatever you want.  It's fun.

So let's go out with a bang instead of a whimper.  There aren't that 
many days left between now and the end of the year, so I'd like to 
get as many people in as possible between now and then.  I'll even 
run more than one poem a day if I have to.

And there will be a big party.  In Urbana.

More soon,
-- 
Joe Futrelle
Editor-within-chief
http://www.newspoetry.com/