# SDMB Poetry Sweatshop - August, 2011 edition, Logistics Thread. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 25, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021 "2011-08-25T11:59:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/1 "2011-08-25T11:59:12Z")
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the logistics thread for the March 2011 Poetry Sweatshop. These have been tremendous fun in the past, and have produced some top notch work from the participants. I would like to begin this month’s Poetry Sweatshop on Friday, August 26th at 9:00 AM EDT, and close it on Monday, September 5th at 10:00 PM EDT. This is an extra long period of time in which, I hope, many Doper poets can find a one hour window in which to write. It has, through one thing and another in my in-tray, been far too long since we’ve had a Poetry Sweatshop. As with the past Sweatshops, any interested poets will have one hour to write a poem - any style, form, length, rhyme scheme (or no rhyme.) - but the poem must incorporate three words chosen at random. The words will be in an auto-reply message that can be received by writing to sdmbpoetrysweatshop at gmail dot com after 9 AM EDT on Friday, August 26th. (Please remember to mention your SDMB username…) Send the poem in a reply to the auto-reply, and the time stamps will show whether the poem was completed within the hour or not. Sorry, lurkers - entry is restricted to those who are permitted to post on the SDMB, be they Guests, Members, Charter Members, Mods, Admins or other interesting titles. (Though if you have been reading here for a while and have always wanted to join, this would be an ideal opportunity.) In the last hour of the Sweatshop, an Anthology Thread is started and the words are announced in its Original Post; at the end of the Sweatshop (i.e. at 10 PM EDT on Monday, September 5th) a poll is established, in which readers are encouraged to vote for their favourite poem. At the close of the poll, the poet with the most votes is acclaimed Poet Laureate of the SDMB. The Roll of Honour of Past Poets Laureate reads - **tracy jo** - [October, 2009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=536393) **Maserschmidt** - [December, 2009](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=542674) **The Hamster King** - [January, 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=548249) **Pandoranoid** - [February, 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=554076) **Maserschmidt** - [March, 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=557617) **Elendil’s Heir** - [April, 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=561112) **mauxlicious** - [May, 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=565285) **Elendil’s Heir** - [June 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=568755) **Serenata67** - [July 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573211) **Le Ministre de l’au-delà** - [August, 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=576336) **Le Ministre de l’au-delà** - [September, 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=580625) **Maserschmidt** and **Elendil’s Heir** - Joint winners, [November 2010](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=587765). **Woeg** - [January, 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=595295) **Angel of the Lord** - [March, 2011](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=602865) Since the April 2010 Sweatshop, we have used a multiple choice poll, and I’ve been very pleased with the results. Unless there are any strenuous objections, I’d like to keep the poll multiple choice. And, of course, if there are any logistical considerations, this is the place to bring them up. I’m hoping lots of you can find a spare hour sometime in the next 11 days. Best wishes, Le Ministre de l’au-delà ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/2 "2011-08-25T12:57:21Z")
I’m in - thanks, **Le Ministre**! ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/3 "2011-08-25T15:13:22Z")
I’ll play! ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/4 "2011-08-25T15:34:58Z")
Looking forward to it, **Le Ministre**. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/5 "2011-08-25T16:23:27Z")
Short stories Sweatshops, I’m in Can do that but never win But poetry’s a different beast And something I like the least So unless you include the word Nantucket I’m gonna have to beg off and say \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (Hmm, what rhymes with Nantucket?) ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/6 "2011-08-26T13:03:19Z")
We’re off and running - the words are in the auto-reply message, and I’m away to write for an hour. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/7 "2011-08-26T15:47:33Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > So unless you include the word Nantucket > I’m gonna have to beg off and say \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ > > (Hmm, what rhymes with Nantucket?) I’d go with bucket, personally. I’m quite certain I have no idea what else might fit there in terms of rhyme, scansion, and meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/8 "2011-08-27T16:26:31Z")
**xenophon41** - got that. Beautiful. I’m always relieved when the first poem that isn’t by me arrives - it reassures me that the hamsters have been properly appeased, and that maybe things will run smoothly. ---
**Author:** ![xenophon41](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xenophon41/32/253_2.png) [@xenophon41](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xenophon41)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2011, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/9 "2011-08-27T16:55:42Z")
I’m always relieved when the autoreply shows up in my inbox within an hour of the timestamp. In this case, it was practically instant. (Not to discount **Le Ministre** ’s hamsters’ sufficiency of mollification in this instance, but I got lucky in my ISP roulette today.) ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/10 "2011-08-29T02:44:06Z")
As the third evening draws to a close, we have but two poems. It’s a disadvantage of the extra-long window of opportunity - I don’t want to start the anthology until an hour before the Sweatshop closes, but I’m interested to see other people’s reactions to the poems… I keep repeating ‘Patience is a virtue’. Here’s hoping some of the 9 to 5 readers get a notion over the coming work week. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/11 "2011-08-29T11:59:40Z")
Just found last night’s poem from **vdgg81** - lovely! (And yes, that simple correction arrived in time.) ---
**Author:** ![vdgg81](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@vdgg81](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vdgg81)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/12 "2011-08-29T17:52:21Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > Just found last night’s poem from **vdgg81** - lovely! (And yes, that simple correction arrived in time.) Thank you very much for the kind word and especially for accepting my late correction. I rarely write anything that is not a legal brief of one kind or another and am usually very unhappy with the results whenever I do, but I feel pretty good about this one. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/13 "2011-08-29T20:12:55Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I’m always relieved when the first poem that isn’t by me arrives - it reassures me that the hamsters have been properly appeased, and that maybe things will run smoothly. Oh no, now you’ve jinxed it! ETA: My friend who’s in town for the weekend has raid tonight, so if I remember, I might try to snag an hour of that time to write. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/14 "2011-08-30T01:40:48Z")
And as I retire for the evening, there’s another poem, this one by **Puddleglum** - fantastic! I love this job! ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/15 "2011-08-30T01:43:16Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > ETA: My friend who’s in town for the weekend has raid tonight, so if I remember, I might try to snag an hour of that time to write. I beg your pardon, all I’m getting from that sentence is that your friend has a can of bug spray. Please, put an old man out of his puzzlement… ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/16 "2011-08-30T21:07:22Z")
We both play World of Warcraft, an massively multiplayer\* online role-playing game\*\*. A raid is when you get a group of players together (in this case, 25) to fight the toughest computer-controlled monsters. Of course, I totally forgot about poetry by the time I was free last night. :smack: At least I’ve got through the holiday to remember! \*Think, thousands of people online in the same version of the world at the same time. \*\*RPG doesn’t necesarilly mean that you role-play as your character as much as define a style of game that involves a great deal of character customization, frequently including things like race, class, role, and ability specializations. A Blood Elf (race) Protection (specialization) Paladin (class) will play very differently from a Worgen Restoration Druid, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/17 "2011-09-01T03:12:56Z")
Ah, I see. I had been searching for the missing letter, or the substituted letter, but nothing seemed to make sense. Your friend has (b)raid(s)? §aid? rai(n)? None of them were bringing me anywhere near the understanding that I now have - thank you. (I avoid Role Playing Games for the very reason that I think they might be fun. I’m certain that they are addictive and time-consuming, and I already have to steal the time in which to read from other things…) ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/18 "2011-09-01T03:15:30Z")
As I shut 'er down for the evening, we have a fifth poem from **Elendil’s Heir** - delightful. To all of you - it is a great honour to be the first person to read your finished work, and I thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/19 "2011-09-01T20:54:10Z")
> [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](#): > > I avoid Role Playing Games for the very reason that I think they might be fun. Why do you think I didn’t start playing WoW until I was out of college and in a period of unemployment? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2011, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021/20 "2011-09-01T22:06:40Z")
I just gave it a shot… had an hour to kill. Made it with 5 mins to spare! _shwew_ 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-poetry-sweatshop-august-2011-edition-logistics-thread/594021.md?page=2)