The Central California Poetry Journal

A the end of 1999, the counter on our Table of Contents page recorded over 16,000 readers. We reset the counter at zero in early 1997, so our total readership is approaching 20,000 to date. The response from poets around the world has been wonderful. The Central California Poetry Journal is listed with most of the major web search engines. We have established links throughout the United States, Japan, and other countries.

We wish to thank all of those who submitted poems over the past year. As our readers are aware, we publish only poems written by poets who write in or about Central California. The 1999 edition of the Journal featured the work of thirty-three poets. Twenty poets were featured on dedicated pages of the Journal. twelve poets were featured on our Electric Shards page and one poet was featured on our page devoted to younger poets..

We would also like to thank those who established links to The Central California Poetry Journal, and to those who helped inform the poetry community in Central California about the Journal.

In 1998 and 1999 we published our "Poetry Scene" page, which we plan to continue again in the year 2000. We hope that you will send us news of upcoming poetry events in Central California so that we can post announcements on our "Poetry Scene 2000" page.

Someday we may actually publish a printed version of The Central California Poetry Journal, but that day will probably not be in the year 2000. We believe that a number of the poems appearing in the 1996, 1997,1998 and 1999 editions of our on-line journal deserve to be in print. We also appreciate the sponsorship of Solo Publications, and recognize that Solo Publications must underwrite the cost of publication of a printed edition of the Journal.

Looking Forward to 2000:

Volume 100, the year 2000 edition of The Central California Poetry Journal, will again include a "Letters to The Editor" page which will be updated regularly. As in 1998, new letters will be posted at the beginning of the "Letters to The Editor page."

Again this year we will continue to publish single or a small number of short poems by poets living in or writing about Central California on our "Electric Shards" page. Our "Poems by Younger Poets" page is devoted to the poets of Central California who happen to be children. We invite younger poets who live in or write about Central California to send their poems to the Journal.

It is the intent of the Journal to capture in poetry and photographic imagery the essence of Central California. We will continue to devote separate pages to poets who submit longer or a larger number of poems. We welcome the work of poets who are writing today in Central California whether or not they have previously published.

We extend our special appreciation to all the poets who made 1998 a successful third year for the Central California Poetry Journal. We hope that you are continuing to write poetry about our beautiful state, and that you will again consider submitting poetry to The Central California Poetry Journal.