It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of the One Line Poem Project and Chalkboard itself.

When we started the One Line Poem Project here on Chalkboard back in December of 2016, we saw it as a chance to give some visibility to short form poetry. Since then, we have published over 225 prompts. While it is difficult to know exactly how many poems were published over the life of the One Line Poem Project, we estimate that the number is somewhere between 25,000 and 50,000 poems. Close to 300 different writers have had their work published. We currently have over 9,000 followers for Chalkboard. By any metric, this project is a success.

Chalkboard itself has run many other projects. None have lasted as long as the One Line Poem Project, but all have been enthusiastically received. As successful as Chalkboard has been, it is time for Chalkboard to close down and for its projects to be archived. Our readership is down, our submission numbers are down, the enthusiasm level is down. If all of that didn’t show it was time, the lack of response to last week’s call for prompters showed clearly that it is time.

For any writing publication, four and a half years is a good life. For a poetry publication, it is an amazingly long life. None of us are who we were when the project started. All of us have grown as writers, as poets, as people.

This week’s one line poem prompt is our last prompt.

Submissions received by the end of day next Tuesday (June 1st) will be published. After that point, this publication and its projects will stop publishing new content.

We don’t expect anyone will want to, but just in case:

If anyone wants to take over the reins of Chalkboard and resurrect it at any point, please let Kathy know. She will add you as editor and publisher and you can go from there.

It is time to say goodbye was originally published in Chalkboard on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.