This poem came out of the July 4, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by Shirley Barrette. It also fills the "asexual" square in my 5-29-17 card for the Pride Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Schrodinger's Heroes project.


"Missing"


There are a few things
missing from Schrodinger's life:

two fuzzy lumps under his tail,

the special deliciousness
in the scent of a queen in heat,

yowling romance in the moonlight
and getting his black ears bitten
to shreds by his rivals,

litter after litter of kittens
that he brought into being.


There are a few things
missing from Schrodinger's life,
but his identity is not one of them.

It is something he found,
instead of something he lost,
as when a sculptor removes
everything that is not the statue.

He is asexual but still affectionate;
his humans are the center of his world,
and even without a common language
they know this as well as he does,
because they call themselves

Schrodinger's Heroes.


There are a few things
missing from Schrodinger's life,

but he doesn't miss them a bit.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, fishbowl, gender studies, poem, poetry, reading, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem is spillover from the July 4, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired and sponsored by janetmiles. It also fills the "nonphysical passions" square in my 5-29-17 card for the Pride Bingo fest.

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Tags: cyberfunded creativity, ethnic studies, fishbowl, gender studies, poem, poetry, reading, spirituality, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

(Obviously NSFW.)

Been there, had that conversation. LOL It's amusing to think, oh yeah, the artist must have been there too. Because this is totally what happens when you try to explain to pirates how not to knock up their favorite whore and where is the little man in the boat.

Meanwhile in Terramagne, Grainne Nuala is probably still throwing occasional treasure at sex ed programs. Imagine some Planned Parenthood office manager opening the dropbox and then ...

"Well, nuts! Some darn fundie must crammed this thing with brass pirate tokens."

"Uh, boss? These are heavier than brass and some of them are bent."

"Holy Mary Mother of God this is all REAL?! Who would do that?"

"Maybe a pirate who loves sex ed."

Tags: art, fantasy, gender studies, humor, networking
Current Mood: amused

I have mostly finished the first round of poems for each prompter, but there's still a lot of stuff I want to write.  I have family obligations that will keep me away from the computer for most of next week.  So I'm going to try something new and just reopen this fishbowl as the mid-month activity.  

* It will have the same theme of "gender, orientation, and identity.

* I will keep writing previously collected prompts.
 
* If you did NOT prompt on July 4, you may leave a prompt when the fishbowl reopens.

* If you sponsor something already written by Sunday night, you may leave a prompt when the fishbowl reopens.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, gender studies, personal, reading, writing
Current Mood: busy

This is the second freebie for the July 4, 2017 fishbowl courtesy of several new prompters.  It was inspired by [Unknown LJ tag]. It also fills the "queer" square in my 5-29-17 card for the Pride Bingo fest.

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Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, gender studies, personal, poem, reading, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

Here is today's freebie, prompted by SlytherClaw Kid via librarygeek. It also fills the "guests" square in my 7-1-17 card for the Winterfest in July Bingo. It belongs to the Schrodinger's Heroes project.

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Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, free stuff, gender studies, poem, poetry, reading, science fiction, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED.  Thank you for your time and attention.  Keep an eye on this post, as I'm still writing.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open!  Today's theme is "gender, orientation, and identity."  I will be checking this page periodically throughout the day. When people make suggestions, I'll pick some and weave them together into a poem ... and then another ... and so on. I'm hoping to get a lot of ideas and a lot of poems.

Click to read the linkback poem "The Emulsification of Humankind" (14 verses, Torn World).


What Is a Poetry Fishbowl?

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.

In this online version of a Poetry Fishbowl, I begin by setting a theme; today's theme is "gender, orientation, and identity." I invite people to suggest characters, settings, and other things relating to that theme. Then I use those prompts as inspiration for writing poems.


Cyberfunded Creativity

I'm practicing cyberfunded creativity. If you enjoy what I'm doing and want to see more of it, please feed the Bard. The following options are currently available:

1) Sponsor the Fishbowl -- Here is a PayPal button for donations. There is no specific requirement, but $1 is the minimum recommended size for PayPal transactions since they take a cut from every one. You can also donate via check or money order sent by postal mail. If you make a donation and tell me about it, I promise to use one of your prompts. Anonymous donations are perfectly welcome, just won't get that perk. General donations will be tallied, and at the end of the fishbowl I’ll post a list of eligible poems based on the total funding; then the audience can vote on which they want to see posted.

2) Swim, Fishie, Swim! -- A feature in conjunction with fishbowl sponsorship is this progress meter showing the amount donated.  There are multiple perks, the top one being a half-price poetry sale on one series when donations reach $300.



3) Buy It Now! -- Gakked from various e-auction sites, this feature allows you to sponsor a specific poem. If you don't want to wait for some editor to buy and publish my poem so you can read it, well, now you don't have to. Sponsoring a poem means that I will immediately post it on my blog for everyone to see, with the name of the sponsor (or another dedicate) if you wish; plus you get a nonexclusive publication right, so you can post it on your own blog or elsewhere as long as you keep the credits intact. You'll need to tell me the title of the poem you want to sponsor. I'm basing the prices on length, and they're comparable to what I typically make selling poetry to magazines (semi-pro rates according to Duotrope's Digest).

0-10 lines: $5
11-25 lines: $10
26-40 lines: $15
41-60 lines: $20
Poems over 60 lines, or with very intricate structure, fall into custom pricing.

4) Commission a scrapbook page. I can render a chosen poem in hardcopy format, on colorful paper, using archival materials for background and any embellishments. This will be suitable for framing or for adding to a scrapbook. Commission details are here.  See latest photos of sample scrapbooked poems: "Sample Scrapbooked Poems 1-24-11"

5) Spread the word. Echo or link to this post on your LiveJournal, other blog, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, or any other social network.  Useful Twitter hashtags include #poetryfishbowl and #promptcall.  Encourage people to come here and participate in the fishbowl.  If you have room for it, including your own prompt will give your readers an idea of what the prompts should look like; ideally, update later to include the thumbnail of the poem I write, and a link to the poem if it gets published.  If there is at least one new prompter or donor, I will post an extra freebie poem.

Linkback perk: I have a spare series poem available, and each linkback will reveal a verse of the poem.  One person can do multiple links if they're on different services, like Dreamwidth or Twitter, rather than all on LiveJournal.  Comment with a link to where you posted.  "The Emulsification of Humankind" has 14 verses and belongs to Torn World.


Additional Notes

1) I customarily post replies to prompt posts telling people which of their prompts I'm using, with a brief description of the resulting poem(s). If you want to know what's available, watch for those "thumbnails."

2) You don't have to pay me to see a poem based on a prompt that you gave me. I try to send copies of poems to people, mostly using the LJ message function.  (Anonymous prompters will miss this perk unless you give me your eddress.)  These are for-your-eyes-only, though, not for sharing.

3) Sponsors of the Poetry Fishbowl in general, or of specific poems, will gain access to an extra post in appreciation of their generosity.  While you're on the Donors list, you can view all of the custom-locked posts in that category.  Click the "donors" tag to read the archive of those.  I've also posted a list of other donor perks there.  I customarily leave donor names on the list for two months, so you'll get to see the perk-post from this month and next.

4) After the Poetry Fishbowl concludes, I will post a list of unsold poems and their prices, to make it easier for folks to see what they might want to sponsor.

5) If donations total $100 by Friday evening then you get a free $15 poem; $150 gets you a free $20 poem; and $200 gets you a free epic, posted after the Poetry Fishbowl.  These will usually be series poems if I have them; otherwise I may offer non-series poems or series poems in a different size.  If donations reach $250, you get one step toward a bonus fishbowl; three of these activates the perk, and they don't have to be three months in a row.  Everyone will get to vote on which series, and give prompts during the extra fishbowl, although it may be a half-day rather than a whole day.  If donations reach $300, there will be a half-price sale.


Feed the Fish!
Now's your chance to participate in the creative process by posting ideas for me to write about. Today's theme is "gender, orientation, and identity." I'll be soliciting ideas for QUILTBAG folks, queer allies, homophobes and other identity bigots, boomerang bigots, gender scholars, the oppressed, the misunderstood, ordinary people, outcasts, abuse survivors, the women that men don't see, questioning, debating labels, losing everything, looking in the window, taking people for granted, surviving oppression, hiding in the closet, coming out, upstanding, speaking truth to power, punching up, protesting, telling your own story, bedrooms, classrooms, counseling offices, churches, government buildings, libraries, cities, alleys, bars, parades, liminal zones, self-discovery, self-awareness, QUILTBAG pride, pride flags, other symbols of identity, birth control, reproductive freedom, sex toys, assumed male gaze, same-sex marriage, alien sex/gender dynamics, unpaid labor, self-sacrifice, emotional labor, disruptions, subversive education, humility, humiliation, social evolution, appreciation, identity literature, and poetic forms in particular. But anything is welcome, really. If you manage to recommend a form that I don't recognize, I will probably pounce on it and ask you for its rules. I do have The New Book of Forms by Lewis Turco which covers most common and many obscure forms.

I'll post at least one of the fishbowl poems here so you-all can enjoy it. (Remember, you get an extra freebie poem if someone new posts a prompt or makes a donation, and additional perks at $100-$300 in donations.  Linkbacks reveal verses of "The Emulsification of Humankind."  The rest of the poems will go into my archive for magazine submission.

Tags: #poetryfishbowl, #promptcall, activism, cyberfunded creativity, ethnic studies, fishbowl, gender studies, poetry, reading, weblit, writing
Current Mood: creative

This poem is spillover from the June 6, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from antisocialite_forum. It also fills the "seeing from a different perspective" square in my 3-1-17 card for the Disability Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by society_of_antisocialites. It belongs to the series One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis.

Warning: This poem contains some intense topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It features clingy evil cultists, drunken orgies, rape, reputation, references to prostitution, confusion and anxiety, alcohol-induced impotence, vaguely described injuries from sexual assault, indifference, and other mayhem. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

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Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, fishbowl, gender studies, poem, poetry, reading, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

Germany has voted to legalize same-sex marriage.  I count this as a long-delayed WWII victory.

Tags: gender studies, news, politics
Current Mood: busy

This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, July 4, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "gender, orientation, and identity." I'll be soliciting ideas for QUILTBAG folks, queer allies, homophobes and other identity bigots, boomerang bigots, gender scholars, the oppressed, the misunderstood, ordinary people, outcasts, abuse survivors, the women that men don't see, questioning, debating labels, losing everything, looking in the window, taking people for granted, surviving oppression, hiding in the closet, coming out, upstanding, speaking truth to power, punching up, protesting, telling your own story, bedrooms, classrooms, counseling offices, churches, government buildings, libraries, cities, alleys, bars, parades, liminal zones, self-discovery, self-awareness, QUILTBAG pride, pride flags, other symbols of identity, birth control, reproductive freedom, sex toys, assumed male gaze, same-sex marriage, alien sex/gender dynamics, unpaid labor, self-sacrifice, emotional labor, disruptions, subversive education, humility, humiliation, social evolution, appreciation, identity literature, and poetic forms in particular.

I have a linkback poem, "The Emulsification of Humankind" (14 verses, Torn World). 

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week.  (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts.  I am now.)  Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog. 

( New to the fishbowl?  Read all about it!Collapse )

Tags: activism, cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, gender studies, poetry, reading, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

 ... vanilla outside, kinky as fuck inside.

Tags: gender studies, nature, news, science, wildlife
Current Mood: busy

 bairnsidhe has been writing a setting called Super-Queers.  Check out "Questions" and "Under the Hood."  If you like Polychrome Heroics, you'll probably love this.

Tags: activism, fantasy, fiction, gender studies, networking, reading, weblit
Current Mood: busy

 Also girl-powered.  \o/

Tags: activism, gender studies, news, science
Current Mood: busy

Some companies are improving how their ads portray the genders.

Tags: gender studies, news
Current Mood: busy

This poem came out of the June 6, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from dialecticdreamer and readera. It also fills the "handicapped heroes" square in my 3-1-17 card for the Disability Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by janetmiles and Shirley Barrette.  It belongs to the shared world project Schrodinger's Heroes.

Warning: This poem deals with disability. Some characters have a healthier view of it than others, and not everyone agrees on what language is acceptable. Please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.

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Tags: activism, cyberfunded creativity, fishbowl, gender studies, poem, poetry, reading, science fiction, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

Here is the freebie for the crowdfunding Creative Jam, prompted by alexseanchai. It also fills the "curiosity" square in my 5-1-16 card for the Solo Celebration Bingo fest.


"Goldilocks and the Three Planets"


Once upon a time,
there was a little girl
with short blonde curls
who wanted to explore space.

So Goldilocks got into her spaceship,
and she traveled a long, long way
in search of planets to explore.

The first planet she found was too hot!
It snuggled up right next to its sun,
and even the rocks melted.

The next planet she found was too cold!
It was far, far away from its sun,
and even the air was frozen.

So Goldilocks went home to her library.
She turned on her computer and
took out her books and studied.
She read all about stars and planets
and something called physics.

Then next time Goldilocks
went exploring in her spaceship,
she looked for suns with planets that
were not too close and not too far.

These were much better planets.
Some were a little warm, or a little cold,
so she kept looking for more middle ones.

Soon Goldilocks found a planet that was just right!
It was not too hot or too cold, too big or too small,
and it had soft soil for growing yummy things.

Goldilocks got out of her starship
and put up a habitat dome and
began to plant a garden.

She was very happy in
her new home, and people
began to say that such planets
were in "The Goldilocks Zone."

And she's still there!

Eventually the aliens came home,
but that's another story.

* * *

Notes:

"Goldilocks and the Three Bears" is a fairytale about boundaries and moderation.  Read a version online, or enjoy a video.

"The Goldilocks Zone" is the area of space around a star where planets are likely to have liquid water on the surface, and therefore may be habitable for life as we know it.  (Life not as we know it may prefer other environments.)

Tags: creative jam, cyberfunded creativity, gender studies, life lessons, poem, poetry, reading, science fiction, space exploration, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

You know you've picked a good one when your husband does this.  Mate selection = WIN.

One time I was in a grocery store line, listening to all the women complaining about all the things their men wouldn't do.  Not having a dog in that fight, I didn't say anything.  Apparently this was weird, because after a while one of them turned to me and said, "What about you, sweetie?"

I shrugged and said, "Mine cooks East Indian feast food."

This is what you get when you select for personality and life skills, rather than a pretty face and a big dick.

Tags: gender studies, networking, romance
Current Mood: amused

This poem came out of the June 6, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from librarygeek and Shirley Barrette. It has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. This poem belongs to the series Polychrome Heroic.

Warning: This poem features an alternate-dimension version of a public figure, so if Real Person Fanfic squicks you, this may not be your thing. Also it doesn't directly mock an unpopular person, so if you're looking for rude political humor, that's in other poems.

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Tags: cyberfunded creativity, ethnic studies, fantasy, fishbowl, gender studies, history, poem, poetry, politics, reading, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

This poem is from the June 6, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was prompted and sponsored by Shirley Barrette.

WARNING: This poem is all about child molestation by clergy.

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Tags: cyberfunded creativity, gender studies, poem, poetry, reading, safety, spirituality, weblit, writing
Current Mood: busy

My partner Doug found this shop featuring Wonder Woman.   Along with all the solo stuff, there are a few items including other DC superheras.

Tags: fantasy, gender studies, networking, shopping
Current Mood: busy