Poetry Fishbowl Open!: ysabetwordsmith

Poetry Fishbowl Open!

EDIT: The Poetry Fishbowl is now CLOSED (as of 2 AM, though LJ was down then so I couldn't update). Thank you all for your enthusiasm.

LiveJournal is fubar today. I have echoed this post over on my Dreamwidth account. Also, if you want a Dreamwidth invite code, I have some; just contact me backchannel or leave a comment on DW.

Starting now, the Poetry Fishbowl is open! Today's theme is "Mad Science." 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.

I'm trying out a new perk this time. If donations total $150+ by Friday evening 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.

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 "Mad Science." 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) 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.

3) 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"

4) Spread the word. Echo or link to this post on your LiveJournal, other blog, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Digg, StumbleUpon, or any other social network. The Twitter hashtag is #poetryfishbowl. 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.

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.

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 "Mad Science."

I'll be soliciting ideas for mad scientists (as heroes or villains), their assistants, their heroic allies or adversaries, hapless victims, sentient creations, nonsentient creations, bizarre weapons, lab equipment or scenery, things that would be special effects in a movie, plots that happen in labs, mad science saving the day, scientific mishaps, science gone horribly wrong, moral quandaries, religious morasses, folding or spindling proper scientific methods, mad scientist lairs and hideouts, other places where mad science might happen, settings you wouldn't expect to find a mad scientist who is there anyhow, stuff you always wanted to see in old shows about mad science that nobody ever forked over, 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 first edition of Lewis Turco's The Book of Forms 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.) The rest will go into my archive for magazine submission.

stryck

April 5 2011, 16:47:03 UTC 10 years ago

New comment

When I'm trying out new recipes in the kitchen, I usually feel like a mad scientist! What would a mad scientist chef cook up?

Also, why are mad scientists mad? Why do we associate them with airships and not quarks and boson particles? I think quantum science is pretty crazy.

Poem

ysabetwordsmith

April 5 2011, 19:24:40 UTC 10 years ago

I combined the idea of mad scientists in the kitchen with

aldersprig's prompt (on Dreamwidth) about bunsen burners. The result is "Catering to the Masses," a free-verse poem giving a behind-the-scenes look at a convocation of mad scientists. Because hey, somebody has to do the cooking...

33 lines, Buy It Now = $15

kelkyag

10 years ago

siege

April 5 2011, 16:51:20 UTC 10 years ago

Of course the Omnignostic Polytechnic Automated Marching Band should make an appearance. Zeusaphones on wheels! Truly explosive percussion! Three-dimensional marching patterns thanks to the flying instruments! And a director with lots of arms and lights for show (the controls are all done electronically anyway).

Several rival schools have occasionally attempted to take over the AMB by subverting the control signals, too... but then OmniPoly took over their football teams and professors!

... or something like that?

Sorry, I've had these ideas in my head for quite a while now.

In more webcomical themes

April 5 2011, 16:58:34 UTC 10 years ago

"A Miracle of Science" is about a cop who stops people taken over by a memetic virus that causes Mad Science. "Girl Genius" includes variations on the theme of mad scientists trying to stop other mad scientists from causing total mayhem; some even do it with the wellbeing of the people in mind; some are even good guys.

What would your version of a good-guy mad scientist look like? Why would they do it? What are their goals, their themes, their desires be?

And would any good actually come of it?

thesilentpoet

April 5 2011, 16:52:16 UTC 10 years ago

general relativity vs. quantum mechanics - "they sleep in the same bed, but never talk"

getting ready for a school science fair in the Monster House

how would one use a spork in a lab?

Igor's view (Frankenstein)

April 5 2011, 18:38:46 UTC 10 years ago

I loved the phrase "they sleep in the same bed, but never talk" so that became the core image of "Back to Back." This free-verse poem renders various branches of science and mysticism in the metaphor of a dysfunctional family. It is bitter but also a little wacky, like one of those horrible arguments you don't want to listen to but can't walk away from.

26 lines, Buy It Now = $15

Re: Poem

ellenmillion

April 5 2011, 17:21:22 UTC 10 years ago

Oranaan seems well on his way to being a mad scientist, and he's always fun to see in action. :)

I like plays on words, so something about an angry scientist would be apt.

Is math a science? Are there mad mathematicians?

minor_architect

April 5 2011, 18:47:39 UTC 10 years ago

Are there mad mathematicians?

My immediate thought in answer to this question was YES. Kage's a computer and electrical engineer and they use lots of math. And look how he turned out! :D

Well...

April 5 2011, 17:22:43 UTC 10 years ago

the_vulture left an advance prompt about how school bullying could lead to mad science. The result is "Where They're Coming From," a poem about torment and revenge.

71 lines, Buy It Now = $35.50

the_vulture

April 6 2011, 05:45:50 UTC 10 years ago

I'm really interested to see how that turns out. :)

Thank you!

Re: Thank you!

Fishbowl!!!

aldersprig

April 5 2011, 17:37:43 UTC 10 years ago

Ack ack ack, where did the 5th come from?

Sooo.

"I'm not mad, I'm just a victim of bad PR."

The turning of time means the maddest science becomes commonplace for a later generation.

What if the scientist was sane but his assistant mad?

Playing God: another look at Frankenstein's monster.

For that matter, from the "thou art god" mindset, why NOT play god?

Aether ships, star gates, and mad science portals into the fae realms.

What if the first home computers had been designed by mad scientists?

On that note? Mad-scientist=creation robots.

Ooh ooh, Super green-laser Death-ray Stingrays!

Mad biology

What if *humanity* is a mad science experiment?

Re: Fishbowl!!!

April 5 2011, 22:07:43 UTC 10 years ago

I combined the bad PR quote with

wyld_dandelyon's request for politics. "Learning Curves" is a free-verse poem about what happens when three mad scientists brush up their people skills and approach the executives, the advertisers, and the politicians.

43 lines, Buy It Now = $20

siliconshaman

April 5 2011, 17:37:54 UTC 10 years ago

Why is it always evil Mad Scientists trying to take over the world [or destroy it if they can't.

How about a Good Mad Scientist who's just fed up with politicians bullshit and decides to take over for the good of humanity using his very polite but very firm army of robot mothers.

Come to think of it, Mad Scientists are always physicists or chemists or more like engineers... how about a Mad Science Environmentalist. Goddess knows, (s)he'd have enough reasons to be mad! It would certainly give them an edge on the creature creation...imagine if the various ecological niches and environments had a guardian monster to defend it! [

April 5 2011, 19:04:38 UTC 10 years ago

From the prompt about a benevolent mad scientist, I got "Nanny Hammer and the Dawnsday Machine," a free-verse poem in which a mad scientist teams up with Gaia to save the world from human foolishness. There are guard critters and a two-headed robot.

113 lines, Buy It Now = $56.50

natasiakith

April 5 2011, 19:07:38 UTC 10 years ago

I can't believe I'm the first one to say this:

Nicola Tesla and other real world "mad" scientists.

my_partner_doug

April 5 2011, 19:17:13 UTC 10 years ago

You could count Wilhelm Reich along with Tesla.

April 5 2011, 19:16:02 UTC 10 years ago

Mad science, hmmm...

* When GMOs attack, we get real killer tomatoes!
* The mad science of phone book friction - which requires tanks to pull apart! http://bit.ly/e7X1I0 (Start at 3 minutes, 20 seconds.)
* Mad scientists have secret labs, so do they all belong to a secret society? What’s it like? Is there a mission statement? How does one join? What about an initiation ceremony?
* Poetic form: gigan! (Yes, it's named for the gigantic Japanese monster. ;) Rules: 1) sixteen lines 2) couplet, triplet, couplet, couplet, triplet, couplet 3) line one repeats as line eleven 4) line six repeats as line 12 5) last couplet turns the subject askew. Hear the inventor of the form talk about it here: http://bit.ly/hV2Wco

April 6 2011, 02:22:59 UTC 10 years ago

From the prompt about mad scientists and their secret society, plus others involving white hair and electricity, I got the free-verse poem "Lab Partners." It gives a glimpse of what draws mad scientists together and what their culture is like.

38 lines, Buy It Now = $15

janetmiles

April 5 2011, 20:17:05 UTC 10 years ago

Mad science prompts (and I'll copy them over at DW just in case):

"That's frahnk en SHTEEN!"

Whizbang -- robots, ray guns, jet packs, flying cars (where the hell are my flying cars? although come to think of it, most people drive badly enough in two dimensions)

Behind the scenes -- mind control beams, untraceable poisons, buggering up the forensic techs' data and conclusions

Gengineering -- transhumanism -- do the Betans and / or the Cetagandans have the right idea? (I'm rereading Miles Vorkoskigan at the moment.)

Why do mad scientists all have thick white hair that sticks out in all directions?

The daughter in Monster House's first science fair project.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!) but rather, 'hmm... that's funny...'" -- Isaac Asimov

Time travel / teleportation (what I wouldn't give for about two extra hours between now and 5 p.m.!)

April 5 2011, 20:51:50 UTC 10 years ago

The prompt about mind control and forensics led me into a wicked subtle idea, based on my awareness of how important forensic entomology is to determining time of death (and thus, the timeframe of a necessary alibi). "Buggered Up" is a rondeau about the mind control of tiny flies.

aldersprig suggested the rondeau form.

15 lines, Buy It Now = $10

meeksp

April 5 2011, 20:40:55 UTC 10 years ago

Hiya! LJ wasn't being too cooperative yesterday, so I'm still working through all of your comments, but I did have a chance to enjoy some of your serial poems, and I'd love to see more :)

How about a mad guinea pig scientist experimenting on humans?

April 5 2011, 21:26:05 UTC 10 years ago

The prompt about a guinea pig mad scientist combined with others about a spork in a lab and mad scientists with thick white hair. "Pig Tales" is a free-verse poem about the adventures of Jenny, her experiments on human subjects, and what happens when PETA shows up.

38 lines, Buy It Now = $15

April 5 2011, 22:04:48 UTC 10 years ago Edited: April 5 2011, 22:05:02 UTC

I can't think mad science without a bit of roof-and-tunnel hackers and/or pranksters sneaking in. What does the mad scientist do for fun and/or to unwind?

The overly enthusiastic and/or proactive laboratory assistant.

Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde. (I saw a steampunk-flavored performance of the musical recently.)

Experimenting on oneself. Volunteer experimental subjects. Making one's experimental subjects intelligent enough to hold and express opinions on their involvement.

Handing the family laboratory over to a new generation. Dealing with toddlers in the lab. Mad scientists in love. Dealing with grandma's increasing absent-mindedness about her experiments.

eseme

April 5 2011, 22:35:28 UTC 10 years ago

I'd like to hear about a different kind of mad scientist : the ANGRY scientist. Angry about funding? Angry about not being respected? Angry about fellow scientists not being rigorous enough?

Also, if we get enough donations for a serial poem, I really want to echo

thesilentpoet's suggestion of "getting ready for a school science fair in the Monster House." Because that would be awesome!

April 6 2011, 01:09:22 UTC 10 years ago

Two different people asked about "mad as in angry" scientists. So, I give you four low-ranked and frustrated scientists who are tired of being oppressed, their high-ranked oppressors, a weird-ray, a Jesus Gun, and a fire-fight in a laboratory. "Lab Rage" is free verse and all in good fun.

76 lines, Buy It Now = $38

Deleted comment

April 6 2011, 04:58:54 UTC 10 years ago

From the prompts about Igor, Igor's view, Frankenstein, and playing God ... I got "Igor's Creature." (Okay, I also threw in some ulterior knowledge from studying the original novel with an eye toward feminist deconstruction of male privilege and class warfare.) This free-verse poem is all about the guy who does the real work while his boss goofs off, hogs the credit, and generally wreaks havoc. Of course Igor winds up cleaning up the mess, but he's also the one who realizes that the monster isn't actually a monster ...

110 lines, Buy It Now = $55

April 6 2011, 05:35:48 UTC 10 years ago

Did anyone ever see the episode of 'The Tick' that had the Mad Scientist Convention? "I am Professor Mon Mon... and this (pointing to monstrous, vaguelly man-shaped tongue) is my creation, Tongue Tonuge."

And, of course, there's always the episode of 'The Venture Brothers' featuring Dr. Venture's garage sale. THAT was amusing. :)

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Fishbowl!!!

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Content notes for "The Little Shadow Across the Grass"

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