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2022-08-26
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THE MAD POET
by
William Barton
COMMODORE POWER/PLAY MAGAZINE
August/September, 1986
Let's face it. If you took a poll
asking people to list all the things
computers do well, "writing poetry"
would be well down the list.
Nontheless, for the past two
decades, writer/programmers have been
producing computer-generated
"literature" with programs like THE
MAD POET.
Basically, the writer first creates
several different word lists and an
overall pattern governing
organization. The program then takes
a word at random from each list and
places it in the final work.
The resulting hodgepodge can be
humorous or merely silly. Sometimes,
though, the works can somehow catch
the reader's imagination and seem full
of hidden meanings.
This poem was generated by THE MAD
POET:
She soared trembling
into the
sparkling land
Of death-wings left
by that sea,
From the hollow maze
of kings demand
So all grew by the
alien sea.
When you run THE MAD POET, every
time you press the space bar, it will
generate a poem like the one above.
WRITING YOUR OWN POETRY
You can customize THE MAD POET by
altering the word lists contained in
its data statements. (Barton
recommends that words on the same line
have the same number of syllables.)
You may increase the length of the
poems generated by changing the values
for "X" in line 100-- along with the
various items refering to it in the
program.
Helpful Hint #1: A good source of
material for your computer-generated
poetry can be found in the works of
human authors.
DISK FILES USED:
MAD POET
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