Poetry Fishbowl on Tuesday, April 5
NAME OF THING: April 2011 Poetry Fishbowl
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE: You give me a prompt and I write a poem based on it. This month's theme is "Mad Science."
WHO IS ELIGIBLE (preferably this should be available to anyone!): Everyone. Come one, come all! Bring some friends.
DATE/TIME WINDOW: Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Active window varies but a typical range is about noon to midnight.
TIPPING: Yes, please! Donors get added to my "Donors" filter for two months, which has perk-posts about poetry and related topics. You can sponsor an individual poem for publication on my blog, co-sponsor a long poem with the help of other donors, or donate some amount toward general funds (for which there is usually a poll later to select funded poetry). One poem always gets posted free for everyone to read, plus whatever gets sponsored. If there's at least one new prompter or donor, I post a second freebie -- this could be you! It doesn't cost anything to leave a prompt, and sometimes people sponsor poems they didn't prompt.
NEW PERK: I'm trying out a new perk this time. If donations total $150+ then I'll write an extra series poem after the Poetry Fishbowl, and post it for free. Everyone will get to vote which series gets a new poem. April donors will get some kind of input into the poem's content; I'm currently thinking I might ask them for prompts, but it could be something else.
EXAMPLES: Visit the Poetry Fishbowl Landing Page and scroll down for links to pictures of scrapbooked poems or the list of previous months' fishbowl reports (which include links to all the posted poems from that month). The " poem" tag on my blog leads to my posted poems, mostly but not all fishbowl poems; and the " fishbowl" tag shows all the poems, announcements, fishbowl-open posts, reports, etc. from the poetry fishbowls. I have two poetry books published, Prismatica: Science Fiction Poetry Spanning the Spectrum and From Nature's Patient Hands: A Collection of Poetry. Both contain reprints of multiple fishbowl poems, and there are links to the poems that are visible online.
Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.
I'm going to host a Poetry Fishbowl on my blog on Tuesday, April 5. I'll be soliciting ideas for thematic characters, objects, plots, settings, and poetic forms in particular. Chances are I'll spend a good chunk of the day, from afternoon to evening or more, alternating between this site and doing stuff offline so my back doesn't weld itself to the chair. I will post at least one of the resulting fishbowl poems on the blog for everyone to enjoy, and an extra one if there's at least one new prompter or donor. The rest will be available for audience members to buy, and whatever's left over will go into my archive for magazine submission.
If you enjoy my poetry -- or if you just love poetry in general, or want to promote interest in mad science -- please mark the fishbowl date on your calendar. Drop by and give me some ideas, comment on the posted poetry, encourage people to come look, whatever tickles your fancy. I hope to see you then!
DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE: You give me a prompt and I write a poem based on it. This month's theme is "Mad Science."
WHO IS ELIGIBLE (preferably this should be available to anyone!): Everyone. Come one, come all! Bring some friends.
DATE/TIME WINDOW: Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Active window varies but a typical range is about noon to midnight.
TIPPING: Yes, please! Donors get added to my "Donors" filter for two months, which has perk-posts about poetry and related topics. You can sponsor an individual poem for publication on my blog, co-sponsor a long poem with the help of other donors, or donate some amount toward general funds (for which there is usually a poll later to select funded poetry). One poem always gets posted free for everyone to read, plus whatever gets sponsored. If there's at least one new prompter or donor, I post a second freebie -- this could be you! It doesn't cost anything to leave a prompt, and sometimes people sponsor poems they didn't prompt.
NEW PERK: I'm trying out a new perk this time. If donations total $150+ then I'll write an extra series poem after the Poetry Fishbowl, and post it for free. Everyone will get to vote which series gets a new poem. April donors will get some kind of input into the poem's content; I'm currently thinking I might ask them for prompts, but it could be something else.
EXAMPLES: Visit the Poetry Fishbowl Landing Page and scroll down for links to pictures of scrapbooked poems or the list of previous months' fishbowl reports (which include links to all the posted poems from that month). The " poem" tag on my blog leads to my posted poems, mostly but not all fishbowl poems; and the " fishbowl" tag shows all the poems, announcements, fishbowl-open posts, reports, etc. from the poetry fishbowls. I have two poetry books published, Prismatica: Science Fiction Poetry Spanning the Spectrum and From Nature's Patient Hands: A Collection of Poetry. Both contain reprints of multiple fishbowl poems, and there are links to the poems that are visible online.
Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.
I'm going to host a Poetry Fishbowl on my blog on Tuesday, April 5. I'll be soliciting ideas for thematic characters, objects, plots, settings, and poetic forms in particular. Chances are I'll spend a good chunk of the day, from afternoon to evening or more, alternating between this site and doing stuff offline so my back doesn't weld itself to the chair. I will post at least one of the resulting fishbowl poems on the blog for everyone to enjoy, and an extra one if there's at least one new prompter or donor. The rest will be available for audience members to buy, and whatever's left over will go into my archive for magazine submission.
If you enjoy my poetry -- or if you just love poetry in general, or want to promote interest in mad science -- please mark the fishbowl date on your calendar. Drop by and give me some ideas, comment on the posted poetry, encourage people to come look, whatever tickles your fancy. I hope to see you then!