The Spoonbill Generator
The Spoonbill Generator was designed to allow the creation of collaborative works of verse.
The first poem written on the Spoonbill Generator was completed in June 1996 and subsequently almost 3000 poems were created, ranging from minor masterpieces to complete rubbish.
It was closed to new submissions in 2007 on representations from a host of English-language poets that it was undermining their craft and devaluing the calling of poet. The fact that fatal technical issues were discovered around the same time is entirely coincidental.
The Olden Treasury has all the poems written on the Spoonbill Generator, and its main page enshrines the Spoonbill Hall of Fame, 50 or so of the best works. Readers encumbered with refined literary sensibilities should probably think twice before exploring the full range of Spoonbill creations.
Under "Related Works" in the left-hand frame you will find links to some non-electronic precursors of the Spoonbill Generator.
Currently, the Spoonbill Generator is undergoing essential maintenance. It is hoped to have it fully operational again before the end of 2023.
Peter Christian, Spoonmaster
Coverage
- Astrid Ensslin, Canonizing Hypertext: Explorations and Constructions, Continuum, 2007.
- Klaus Stierstorfer (ed.), Beyond Postmodernism: Reassessment in Literature, Theory, and Culture, De Gruyter, 2003.
- Gene van Troyer, Collaborations, Ravenna Press, 2007.
The Poems created on The Spoonbill Generator
are licensed under
CC BY-NC-SA 4.0