Sharpening The Sharpener

Dear Sharpener readers:

First, thank you for reading The Sharpener. Readership continues to grow, and I truly appreciate your spreading the word.

Since November of 2020, I have offered free, curated anthologies of poems six days a week. Your feedback and support in this work has been very important to me as I continue to make this Substack as useful as it can be.

Thanks to that feedback, I’m introducing some changes: Many readers have told me that they cannot keep up with the amount of reading I offer, and that the volume can be overwhelming. I always want readers to feel enriched, edified, and engaged with the poems I share. 

So, effective May 20th, I’ll be reducing themed curations to three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, Friday. I hope this change will provide you with more time to read the poems and have conversations about them in real-life and also at the Sharpener’s virtual conversation space. I also hope you’ll continue to let me know when a poem or theme moves you.

Also, next week (May 11th-19th), I’ll be taking a one-week pause from sending new themed curations. Please use this time to catch-up on past issues or revisit your favorites. Also, look forward to the upcoming themes, which include: canvas, sway, darts, promises, Ireland, courage, stars, trombones, cold, parables, slugs, honey, Florida, vasectomies, story, and blood.

As a reminder, all previous daily Sharpeners (no matter when you subscribed) are available in the archive, which now contains over 5,400 poems. Over these 3.5 years, I’ve shared a wide variety of poems, including from modern lit mags, out of print collections, and forgotten poets; the archive is a great resource for writers, educators, and those who are curious about poetry.

In addition, I’ve provided weekly essays on craft and writing problems for paid subscribers, which have been used in teaching modules nationwide. There will be no pause or reduction in paid subscriber essays. Upcoming essays include Amanda Berenguer, Rachel Sherwood, Mary Leader, Melvin Dixon, R.D. Laing, Miklos Radnoti, and the origins of open forms. I’m especially grateful to the paid subscribers, whose support allows me to create free content for all.

Finally, these changes mean more time for me to help you with your poems. Whether you have just a few in progress or a whole manuscript, and no matter your goals as a writer, I am ready to provide editorial services to support you.

Thank you again for reading The Sharpener. I hope that it continues to help you to think about poetry, and to use poetry as a way to think.

—Sean