We raise women’s voices. But aside from inviting women-identifying poets for residencies at The Betsy-South Beach (our wonderful sponsor), producing readings, and publishing a poem every weekday, what does that entail, exactly?
Well, part of it means shouting out the names of these poets continually into the literary universe until you know them, support their work, go to their readings elsewhere, and buy their books.
How do we do this?
When we publish a poem by a woman-identifying poet—and we use “woman” in the most generous, most expansive definition—we adopt that poet as a “SWWIMmer.” Forever after that, we look for that SWWIMmer’s name in journal and book publications, reviews and interviews, award/prize/fellowship announcements, and other literary accomplishments. The editors literally (see what we did there?) spend hours combing the Internet, reading magazines and websites, and asking for our contributors to send in their news.
Then our fabulous Social Media Manager, August, collates it all and produces our Weekly Spotlight, which goes out on our social media channels (Instagram/Facebook/X). They also tag each organization so that every one of our followers can go to their sites, read the work, and see the accolades. Here’s an example of what it looks like:
None of this work is compensated. We are, all of us, volunteers. But we think it’s so important to put these SWWIMmers’ names in front of your eyes that we give up much of our free time to do it. Needless to say, it’s become something of a hobby. A pastime. A passion, even. And it’s one that we love.
As we participate in Give Miami Day, one of the largest annual giving events in the nation, can you help us continue doing what we love? If your situation allows, we would be extremely thankful if you'd consider doing just that.
No gift is too small; every dollar we receive moves us closer to our goal of $5,000.00, which will be matched by an anonymous donor. Early giving started on Monday, November 13, and continues through Give Miami Day on Thursday, November 16th. So please, if you can, consider a gift to help us SWWIM strong into a bigger and brighter future.
With So Much Gratitude,
The SWWIM Team