SDMB Poetry Sweatshop - Dec. 2009 edition, logistics thread.

Cafe Society
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Hello, everyone. Welcome to the logistics thread for the 2nd SDMB Poetry Sweatshop. We had a lot of fun with the last one, and the poems were truly outstanding. (Links to earlier Logistics, Anthology and Voting threads for those interested.) I have asked the moderators their permission to do another, and it has been granted.

The way the Poetry Sweatshop works - participants will have one hour to create a poem. The poem must incorporate three words, selected at random by me at the start of the sweatshop. Other than that, it is up to the individual poets to shape their creations. Rhyme or not, meter or not, form or not, short or long - all up to the taste of the poets. The words will be posted in this thread, and at the top of a new thread, called the ‘Anthology’.

After the hour is up, a poll will be created in the ‘Anthology’ thread and readers will get to vote for their favourite poem from among the submissions. After 2 days, the poll will close; at which point the author of the favourite poem will be crowned ‘Poet Laureate of the SDMB’, and be showered with admiration and praise. tracy jo is our current Poet Laureate.

I would like to suggest that we schedule the hour for sometime this coming weekend. My strong preference would be for Saturday, Dec. 5th, and if we could manage 17:00 EST, we might be able to include the Australian, European and North American contingents in one go. (11PM Paris, 5PM Toronto, 2PM Vancouver, 9AM Sunday, Dec. 6th in Sydney, Australia.) Please, if you are interested in participating, let me know if this is a good time/day for you or not. I’d like to accommodate as many people as possible, within reason.

And speaking of such things - if you are interested in participating, could you please drop a reply in this thread? Although it is not necessary to express your interest in advance, it just gives me a kind of mental checklist of whose submissions to look out for when I’m constructing the poll.

I think that’s all for now; warmest wishes to everyone, and I hope lots of people can find time to participate.

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Sure, I’m in. That date and time would suit me. Thanks, LMdl.

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Heh, I saw your notification as I was already viewing this thread (thanks for the reminder, btw)… However, again, I’d like to participate, but I don’t think I’ll be home Saturday night at 11. I suppose I’m kind of the outlier here, time zone wise, though, so I’d rather opt out than to cause any fuss; besides, that way I can always pretend I’d have been able to compete, rather than be crushed by reality! :wink:

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I’m interested, but won’t be able to participate on Saturday unless it’s in the morning PST.

Thanks for running these, Le Min.

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Count me in.

6

Shoot. I’ve already got stuff going on this Saturday. It’s kinda short notice. Would next weekend be a possibility?

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I’m in. Lots of fun doing this.

L.

8

I’m in, assuming my life doesn’t blow up.

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Le Ministre de l’au-delà
Elendil’s Heir
blondebear
Loisseau
Angel of the Lord can all make Dec. 5 at 5 PM EST, but

Half Man Half Wit
Yllaria
Serenata67 cannot, making for 5 out of 8 interested poets.

Because of Christmas concerts and birthday parties, I can’t do any earlier that day, but I can do later. Would it solve anything, though? I know that later would only make things sleepier for Half Man Half Wit, plus it’s the wrong direction for Yllaria, too. On top of that, I don’t know among the five who can make that time who would have to drop out.

So, to sum up - I just want to ask if later in the day will cause more problems than it will solve? Please let me know…

I must apologize for the short notice on this one - I have barely caught up to November, and I thought, perhaps wrongly, that things will only get busier as December progresses. I know they will for me… I’d promise to be more organized in the future, but I said I didn’t lie on the SDMB in a poll in IMHO. I’m hoping to make these an ‘every four to six weeks’ recurrence, if that’s of any consolation to those who are too busy for the December one.

And I sincerely hope that nobody’s life blows up; at least, not in a bad way!!

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Later would not make any difference to me. I have obligations from about 8 in the morning to midnight today. It’s a busy, busy world. And just to put it out there, I may not be able to make any January ones, either. I’m getting married on the 16th, so that weekend is totally shot. The weekend after, I’m on my honeymoon and the weekend before I’m driving to Illinois to pick up my maid of honor who doesn’t have a reliable car to get here here. If it’s early or really late in the month, I could, but if nothing else, I’ll see you all in February.

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It’s going to be 6am here for me (Singapore), so hopefully I wake up in time (or stay awake till then!)

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All right, I’m just checking in in between the sing along and the birthday party. 5PM EST seems to be the consensus for those who can make it, so Ill see you all in four and a bit hours.

Serenata67, sorry to hear you won’t be able to make it. Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding, though! Wishing both of you great joy and happiness!

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I’m in!

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In 36 minutes? I might be in!

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So, the Anthology thread of the SDMB Poetry Sweatshop, Dec. 2009 edition can be found at this link; please post your completed poems there. Everyone will have one hour from now (1700 EST or 5 PM EST, however you care to think of it.) to create a poem which incorporates the following three words -

Move
Spider
Absurd

  • derived, for those who care, from Roget’s Thesaurus by rolling a 12 sided die for a page number and then a line number.

Other than using those three words, the poem can be any length, form, rhyme, theme you choose. I have a list of people whose poems I am on the lookout for, but anyone is welcome to participate.

In an hour from now, (at 1800 EST or 6 PM), I will add a poll to the Anthology thread, and any and all members of the Straight Dope Message Board will have 2 days to vote for their favourite poem. Latecomers are welcome to post their poems as well, but once I’ve finished making the poll, I can’t add anyone to it.

Enjoy!

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Posted. Thanks; that was fun.

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There we go - the poll is established, and now I get the pleasure of reading everyone’s work.

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Just for curiosity, which was it? Did you stay awake or wake up early?

Either way, I’m really impressed!

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Woke up early. I overslept by half an hour but I made it.