Out of curiosity I played around on some computer generated poetry websites
http://xenon.stanford.edu/~esincoff/poetry/jpoetry.html

http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~nxm/mscPoetry/Poetry/CGPoetry.html

The results were interesting and sometimes reminiscent of poems read both here and elsewhere.

Is it really poetry?

Hi Dave
This is what it produced for me!
Very strange. Win

Never pretended about, never more has been snarledLast for the creaming first for the biting--Now we envision!Everlasting horrors producing through the sky,The sympathetic eyes of the spider rolled back at the sight of the buriedThe day wearies, the hunting of jackals is fruitless, come to my embraceCreaming for envisioning contemtuously done"Duck, you stupid panther!" said the leaving, his voice gone.On my vessel I will ride with Diana Ross at my sideWeap bitter tears, blank face, like Napoleon.. . Nothing are you, or will you ever be.

So, if we use this as an example to test your theory, My answers would be is it reminiscent of poems on here - NO, is it real poetry - YES. My second answer I think is because the producing of the words is only part of the task. It is what the reader makes of them that makes it poetry. (Just my answers)

So Win, when do we get to see your new profile piccie then? (You with Diana Ross sitting on the handlebars?) Can't wait to have a go!!! (The poetry, not the handlebars!! I have no head for heights and a terrible sene of balance!)

Ann, I did ask but sadly she declined (As did Dion Warwick). Their loss I feel. Win X

I bet Chakha Kahn would though! ;)

Here's mine

'Colorless clouds swirled above Lighthouse like a flame
Blowing like a jellyfish the situation fell to calm motives
Crushed by the evil eyebrow he laughs at the calm seahorse.
He spun out of the jeep, a trail of feathery thistle following.
His lover held on to his nubby ear, he was cheerful
He became many antelopes in a sensitive helicopter.
"Duck, you stupid dragon!" shrieked Lighthouse, his voice gone.
Down by the babbling brook the cute panda cultivates.
Cry, for the loss has fallen like a leaden carriage upon you.'


Odd stuff indeed but made me smile a little... lol

Hang on a minute - surely that's one of Steve Whalings isn't it? ;)

Oh dear - I am not applet enabled so I can't take part! (Story of my life!)Why can you never find a java applet when you need one?

Thanks Ann for a good laugh. And sympathy for your lack of applets (little apples?). Maybe Google can find you an non-applet computer poetry site?

Anyway this is what 'Adam' came up with for me

we cuddled the warm heart
the despair told us the deafening lover
a misery loved her quickly
she danced cold
a sweet breeze surrendered
the captivating lover surrendered sad
the languishing rose kissed me slowly
the sweet lover surrendered in the fragile girl
a cold fire surrendered heartbroken
a pretty heart danced with her

Over-use of 'surrendered' methinks. One thing about computers - they have very thick skins and can take any amount of criticism.

Though they do seem to have moods....

What if I just stuck my finger in my thesaurus - (if you see what I mean!) Or my dictionary?

"Greenheart
Cyclone - a storm or system of winds that rotates about a low
atmospheric pressure.
Grace - unmerited divine assistance given to human beings for their sanctification.
Tung - any or several trees"

it all went a bit downhill after that!

Mmmm, or even threw a load of words up in the air to see how they came down.

Grace - lovely - so much more than just assistance. Paul Tillich calls it a wave of light.

Good to see your photo back again. You do ring the changes

Well, I have now had a go at Ann's idea and stuck my finger in the dictionary (8 times) to get this collection of words -

Parenthesis span
Vulgar numskull
ecstacy cross may leaven

I like these words, they could be the start of something?

Can anyone else select 8 words in this way and make something poetic from them or just post them up here?

Win

apodictic
goliard
artesian well
Bristol fashion
passional
soliliquy
casual
riddle

(One of my best I think you'll agree! With the aid of Mr Longman. I don't consort with Mr Chambers! Though M. Roget is kinda cute!)

Goliard = A wandering student in medieval Europe disposed to conviviality, license, and the making of ribald and satirical Latin songs.

Great that Ann. Win :-)

At the Tudor on Thursday, Paul Blackburn mentioned the possibility of using this thread to compare a poem written by a poet with a computer-generated poem, to see if people could pick the 'real' one.

Here goes.

Poem A

A love whispered soon
A sad fantasy died exquisite
The sweet girl surrendered from the graceful misery
She fondled you soon
She shouted soon
The kiss cried for the graceful misery
The noisy heart desired him
A flower told them the sad girl
We fell for the graceful misery
A kiss gave her the placid lover

Poem B

The view from the pills
Unapologetically intense
Transient deviant
Soliciting phantoms
Mind wrinkled
Antennae paralysed
How dare you label
Death is only
The lavish derision of the reprimand
Before the singularity

So which is it?

I think what we are being asked to do here is interesting Dave / Paul but not for the reasons we are supposed to think.

We are actually being asked to choose between a computer generated poem and a poet trying to copy a computer generating a poem.

This does not tell us anything about the 'poetic ability' of the computer or poeples liking of it.

Nevertheless I think A is the computer.

More interestingly, who is slightly scared to guess and get it wrong and why?

Win x

You were right Winston. I was surprised this didn't generate any more interest, but there you go.

Wrote this one ages ago - seems to be one of my more popular ones posted elsewhere on the Internet!

Hope it goes down well on here, too!

After I'd written it, I toyed with (& wrote) a program in old-fashioned BBC BASIC to generate all possible combinations of the words in the first line to see if I'd missed any obvious ones (I'm sure I must've done!) but eventually got bored with the gobbledygook spewed out!

Thoughts of a Goldfish

I am a goldfish; I am swimming around this bowl. It is getting dizzy.

A goldfish I am; It is getting dizzy. Swimming around this bowl I am.
Am I a goldfish? I am swimming around this bowl. It is getting dizzy.
It is getting dizzy, swimming around this bowl, I am a goldfish. I am.
Around this bowl I am swimming. It is getting dizzy. I am a goldfish
I am a goldfish. It is getting dizzy around this bowl, I am swimming.
I am swimming around this bowl; I am a goldfish. It is getting dizzy.
Around this bowl, it is getting dizzy. I am a goldfish; I am swimming.
I am a goldfish. It is getting dizzy. I am swimming around this bowl.
I am a goldfish. Bowl this around: it is getting dizzy. I am swimming.
I am swimming around this bowl. Am I a goldfish? It is getting dizzy.
Am I a goldfish bowl? It is getting dizzy. Am I swimming around this?
It is getting dizzy. I am a goldfish. Am I swimming around this bowl?
Am I a goldfish? Around this bowl am I swimming? It is getting dizzy.
Am I a goldfish? I am. It is getting dizzy, swimming around this bowl.
Am I a goldfish? It is getting dizzy. I am swimming around this bowl.
Am I a goldfish swimming? Around this bowl, I am. It is getting dizzy.
Am I a goldfish? It is getting dizzy. Around this bowl I am swimming.
Am I swimming? I am a goldfish around this bowl. It is getting dizzy.
Am I swimming? Is it getting dizzy? Around this bowl I am a goldfish.
It is getting dizzy. Am I swimming? Am I a goldfish around this bowl?
Am I a-swimming? I am a round goldfish. This bowl, it is getting dizzy.
This bowl: It is getting dizzy. I am a goldfish I am swimming around.
Am I a bowl? It is getting dizzy. I am a goldfish swimming around this.
It is getting dizzy. Am I a round bowl? I am this goldfish a-swimming.
I am a goldfish I am swimming around. Is this bowl getting dizzy? It is.
Is it? I am getting a goldfish. I am swimming around this dizzy bowl.
I am. I am swimming around this goldfish bowl. Dizzy it is a-getting.
I am a dizzy goldfish swimming. I am a round bowl. Is it getting this?
Is this bowl around a dizzy, swimming goldfish? I am. I am getting it.
Is this getting dizzy? Am I a round goldfish? Am I a swimming bowl?

I am a goldfish; I am swimming around this bowl. It is getting dizzy.

I rather like the idea of that. Have you read Edwin Morgan's Opening The Cage? Worth looking out for (that, and The Computer's First Christmas Card.)

What follows is a mixture of two poems,

1) A computer generated piece by the program A.D.A.M details of which can be found here - http://www.cs.bham.ac.uk/~nxm/mscPoetry/Poetry/CGPoetry.html

2) The first 10 lines of Browning's 'The Face'



the storm danced
In that little head of hers.
I danced for her,
Painted upon a Tuscan's background
he touched a nice girl 'twixt the lips
she loves so tenderly,
a fire of pure gold surrendered slowly
No one could capture a fantasy
Such as this late rose
when she laughs

I'd say that was a rather lovely poem Win.

Richard, your poem seems to be constructed using the similar method at this, Recession (part 2) by Chris McCabe which I came accross recently -

We don’t let our problems effect our lives.
Sometimes I think you’re afraid of silence.
We don’t let silence effect our lives.
Sometimes the problems make you afraid.
We don’t let our lives silence our problems.
Sometimes I’m afraid by the problems we make.
Silence does not make our lives’ problems.
Sometimes your silence effects our lives.
Of your problems think sometimes.
Afraid, sometimes, you think of the silence.
Sometimes silence makes you afraid.
I think problems let our lives be silence.
We don’t let our problems effect our lives.
Sometimes I think you’re afraid of silence.

Liked yours and his. win