Learning with 'e's

Irish poetry

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Mon, 22 Dec 2025 23:32:00 +0000

I have always been attracted to Irish poetry. Maybe it's because my ancestors were Irish (My maternal great grandmothers were born in Cork and Waterford), or maybe it's because I appreciate the lyrical and rhythmic quality of it. I could never get enough of Seamus Heaney, James Joyce (Ulysses, although not poetry, is one of my favourite novels, and has directly influenced my own writing), and William Butler Yeats. Several years ago I was in Dublin with my wife (I was on a speaking trip, and she is a teacher of English) and as we were walking around the city, we stumbled upon the Dublin Writers Museum. We spent a fabulous 4 hours wandering around, just soaking up all the history, memorabilia and sense of awe at the collected talent of Irish poetry. If you're ever in Dublin, it's a must visit!

One of the jewels in the Wheelsong Books crown is a young Irish poet named Aoife Cunningham. She is a rare talent - a poet who writes far in advance of her years, and who taps into the visceral emotions and events that happen around her with brutal honesty and contagious humour. It really is a pleasure to read her poetry, and we had the distinct pleasure to publish her debut collection of poetry, Circus of Circles in 2024.

Circus of Circles is currently enjoying a surge of interest in sales. Aoife is fairly prolific anyway, so people are reading her work on our poetry groups with regularity. But they are also showing an interest in owning a copy of her beautiful work. Circus of Circles has recently been in the top 3 of Amazon's Irish poetry best sellers (yes, this is a fickle and rapidly changing chart, which depends upon arcane rules and algorithms that I suspect even the Amazon wizards don't fully understand .... since when was Dylan Thomas an Irish poet?)

Here is Aoife Cunningham's profile:

Key facts and background

Aoife grew up in a rural area around Galway, in a family of six children: she is a twin to her brother, with two younger twin sisters and two older brothers. Source: Connacht Tribune
She began writing poetry at around age 16 following a difficult period with her mental health — writing became a kind of lifeline for her. Source: Galway City Tribune
Her writing is described as raw, unapologetic, and emotionally honest. She calls herself a “heartist”—combining “heart” and “artist.” Source: Connacht Tribune

Work & Achievements

Her debut poetry collection is titled Circus of Circles.
She launched “Circus of Circles” in December 2024—at the University Hospital Galway (UHG), as a gesture of gratitude to the hospital staff who had supported her during her difficult times. Connacht Tribune
Many of the poems in that collection were written while she was in hospital. galwaydaily.com
She has performed spoken-word poetry at events such as the Galway Fringe Festival (Fringe), at Dublins’ Àras Chrónáin, and at public literary events like those run by Over the Edge Literary Events in Galway. Connacht Tribune

Her Perspective & Style

Her poetry seems deeply personal and oriented around healing, mental-health journeys, vulnerability — using art as a path to recovery and self-expression. Connacht Tribune
By choosing to launch her book in the hospital where she had received her care, she deliberately highlights the connection between art, healing, community, and gratitude.

Circus of Circles is the first we hope of many collections we will see from Aoife Cunningham. Yes, the poetry is as colourful and evocative as the jazzy cover art. It's a volume of poetry that will not age, but will remain a snapshot of her prodigious writing talent. You can purchase your copy of Aoife's Circus of Circles from all good online bookstores *listed here, or directly from Wheelsong books by emailing wheelsong6@gmail.com

*Proceeds of the sales from this book will be donated to Save the Children by request of the author.

Steve Wheeler

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 7

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:00:00 +0000

Do you want to be a part of something really amazing? Something that reaches much further than poetry? Would you live to achieve something that will leave a lasting legacy and do some good in the world?

We will soon be publishing the latest anthology in our charity series. It's number 7 in a book series representing our efforts to make lives better for underprivileged children around the globe. We will literally mobilise poetry against poverty. Each book sold raises enough funds to feed a malnourished child for a month.

Wheelsong Books Ltd was established in the Plymouth, England in 2020 as a not-for-profit organisation. Its mission statement is twofold: To give emerging poets the means to reach larger audiences and to help those who are in need. Since then, Wheelsong, in partnership with Invisible Poets and its affiliated groups, has published over 50 books including 11 charity poetry anthologies. Here are some of our anthology statistics:

Absolutely Poetry Anthology 1: 170 poems (310 copies sold)

Absolutely Poetry Anthology 2: 176 poems (286 copies sold)

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 1: 183 poems (255 copies sold)

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 2: 214 poems (233 copies sold)

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 3: 229 poems (415 copies sold)

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 4: 245 poems (392 copies sold)

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 5: 248 poems (341 copies sold)

Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 6: 265 poems (339 copies sold)

Invisible Poets Anthology 1: 352 poems (317 copies sold)

Invisible Poets Anthology 2: 242 poems (82 copies sold)

Invisible Poets Anthology 3: 246 poems (84 copies sold)

No other poetry group on Facebook comes anywhere close to these charitable efforts. (We have published a total of 2570 poems written by more than 720 poets representing 112 countries across all 6 continents, and have sold 3054 copies at the time of writing).

All the above books are still available on Amazon and through other online outlets, including Waterstones (UK) and Barnes & Noble (USA). The proceeds from Amazon sales of these books is donated directly to Save the Children - a worldwide charity that cares for children in crisis, providing emergency nutrition, health care, medicine, safety and education. At the time of writing, Wheelsong Books has donated £11,000.00 ($15,000.00) to Save the Children and we are only getting started! We plan to publish two more Wheelsong Poetry Anthologies and another Invisible Poets Anthology in 2026.

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Dear poet, please think about this... You possess an amazing creative gift ... you have the ability to capture your thoughts, ideas, memories and emotions and present them as beautiful, evocative words.

You can, if you want to join us, use your wonderful talent to freely give back a little to children who are in desperate, often life-threatening situations.

We all want our poetry to be read and appreciated by others. Publishing your work in Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 6 will ensure that you gain a new audience for your poetry, but that's not the most important aim!

Better than that is this ... your poems will be helping to raise much needed funds to support children in crisis. You will also retain ownership of your poem, and Wheelsong Books will protect and administer your copyright for you.

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To be considered for inclusion in the review process you will need to follow these instructions very carefully:

Firstly, do not bother to submit your poetry if you do not intend to buy at least one copy of the book. We will expect you to pledge to buy at least one copy direct from Wheelsong Books if your work is published. This is a charity publication, and all profits from Amazon sales will go to help children in crisis. If you're not prepared to invest in helping children, we won't be publishing your poetry (we are dismayed that around two thirds of featured poets do not purchase a copy of the anthologies once they have been published). Please give more than you take, because this is not about you or about Wheelsong Books - it's about helping children who are in desperate need.

Secondly, only submit poetry that is a) your own work and b) has not been subject to any other publishing agreement. Poetry you've shared on Facebook and other social media is fine, but please do not send in work that has been published elsewhere, and is subject to a previous publishing contract. That could lead to legal action being taken against you. The editorial team will also reject poems if we suspect they have been either plagiarised in part or whole, or generated partly or wholly through artificial intelligence.

Thirdly, submit up to 3 poems as either plain text or in a Word file via email direct to this email address: wheelsong6@gmail.com. Submissions by any other means will not be considered. Poetry submitted as images or photos will not be considered, nor will links to external sites. Please supply a title for each of your poems. Please also supply your real name - we will not publish works by poets using pseudonyms.

And before you ask: There is NO specific theme. Write about what you want.

Finally, all poems submitted will be subject to review by our editorial team. Your poetry will be anonymised (your name blanked out) so the editorial team can't see who you are. If your poetry is selected, you will be informed via email and a publication agreement will be sent to you for you to complete and return. Your work will be then published under your name. If your work is not accepted for publication, you will receive an email informing you of the team's decision. No correspondence other than via email will be valid. Please don't try to text or direct message us. We won't answer.

The window for submission is now open, and will be closed at midnight (UK time) on Sunday 19 October, 2025. Any submissions received after this time/date will be not be reviewed. If there is an extension to this date, you will be informed. The editors' decisions will be final.

Please Note: Shorter poems are more likely to be accepted for publication than longer pieces - space will be limited in the book due to resource and production limitations. Several poetry groups will participate, including Invisible Poets, Wheelsong Poetry, Pure Poetry and Safe Haven. Poets from outside these groups are also eligible to take part, so please point anyone you think may be interested to this blog, and keep visiting this blog to find out news as it unfolds. We look forward to reading your submissions. Good luck!

Steve Wheeler (Editor in Chief)

Photo courtesy of Save the Children

4 tips on how to perform poetry

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Sun, 28 Sep 2025 13:08:00 +0000

In the photos above are (left to right) Nadia Martelli, Steve Wheeler, Richard de Bulat, Tyrone M. Warren and Kate Cameron. All appeared at the recent Invisible Poets Roadshow, performing their poetry for a live audience.

What exactly does it take to be a successful performance poet? The answer can be multifaceted, not least because we are all different, and have different styles, vocal ranges and various ways of communicating. However, there are some tried and tested techniques that you can adopt and practice to improve your performance presence, no matter what kind of poet you are.

Yes, performance is all about presence.

The first tip is to connect with your audience. This can be done in a number of ways, including eye contact, body movement, and gestures. I often meet and chat with members of my audience before I even get up onto the stage. This breaks down barriers, people can see that I am human and down to earth, and that helps to span the gap between audience and stage. I try to find commonalities with each person I meet, and can even mention some of those when I'm in performance mode. Knowing a little about members of your audience can be a nice little touch, especially when you are 'filling in' between poems. It all helps to break down barriers and create a connection.

Secondly, microphone technique is all important. Stand too far away, or too close, and the sound will be compromised. Some poets seem terrified of the mic. It's not a threat, it's a useful tool to enable you to communicate. Use it badly and it can hamper your performance. Use it effectively, and it is magic. Always hold the mic so that it is pointing directly toward your mouth, not to the ceiling, or to somewhere else. If it's on a microphone stand, adjust it o the correct height and angle before you start. Remember preparation time is all important, so a sound check before the audience arrives is always a good idea. You don't need to touch the mic with your lips (that would be unhygienic especially if several of you are performing). However, you should be able to get the flat of your hand in between your lips and the microphone, so no more than an inch or so. Too far away, and the sound system has to work harder to pick up your voice, and the result can be howl-around feedback. Too close, and the sound can be distorted.

Thirdly, rehearse, rehearse, rehearse! The more you are familiar with your own material, the more slick your performance will be. Several poets have told me recently that their live performances have improved since they began to practice breathing, pausing at appropriate points in a poem, and emphasising certain words and phrases. You can practice different voices, ways of expressing your emotions from whispering to shouting, and modulate your entire vocal range according to the demands of the poem you perform.

Finally, have fun! If you are exuding happiness and confidence on stage, your audience will sense this and will get on your side, because they want to enjoy the performance too. You don't necessarily have to tell jokes or be a comedian, but humorous stories or anecdotes about how you wrote a particular poem, or were inspired can really get your audience on your side. If your audience is laughing, you are winning. Smiling and other facial expressions can also help, especially if the poem is funny. If you don't have any humorous or witty poetry in your repertoire, you might think about writing a few.

So that's it. Four tips on how to improve your performance poetry delivery. There are many other tips, such as taking a deep breath or two before you go on stage, pacing your set effectively, or visualising success before you start. Watching established performance poets to see what they do is always a good idea. If you receive any feedback, listen to it, and try to learn, even if it is negative. Ultimately, you will only learn through your own experience.

Good luck (...you won't need it)!

Steve Wheeler

All photographs copyright Wheelsong Books Ltd 2025

Why people use AI to write 'poetry'

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Thu, 25 Sep 2025 15:36:00 +0000

Note that in the title of this blog post I use the word people instead of Poets, and the word 'poetry' is in parentheses. That should tell you all you need to know about my personal stance on this issue. However, let's try to examine this question as dispassionately as we can. It's a question that repeatedly arises whenever AI (Artificial Intelligence) generated poetry is mentioned in my several poetry groups: why on Earth do some people use AI to write poetry?

Firstly, people who use AI to generate poetry seem to have no appreciation for good poetry. If they did, they certainly wouldn't put out the kind of facile, vacuous verse that AI algorithms generate. Any self respecting poet would hate to even be associated with it. AI poetry is emotionless, bland and predictable. Assumption 1 then, is that they either don't have a clue what good poetry looks like, or they are too stupid to realise what they are doing.

Secondly, people who use AI to generate poetry realise they can simply write a prompt or two and then press a key, and the AI model will do the rest for them, churning out the rubbish it does. It's similar to feeding your dog, and then watching it dump out its excrement onto the ground a few hours later. It's the same kind of process. Assumption 2 then, is that these people are incredibly lazy, and don't wish to invest any of their time or energy trying to create their own poetry.

Thirdly, I have noticed over the last few years that the AI poetry frauds (because that my friends, is exactly what they are) can find a gullible audience who will like, love and share their drivel, feeding back to them a dopamine dose that fuels their fragile little egos. Some fraudsters have even gone on to sell entire books of AI generated poetry, under their own names. Assumption 3 then is that these people commit fraud deliberately so they can receive adulation and praise (and possibly even monetary reward) from ignorant saps who will suck up and swallow any putrid detritus served up to them.

Finally, just to clarify a key point, I call AI poetry users fraudsters, because that is exactly what they are. AI algorithms work off the basis of trawling all poetry stored anywhere on the web, and concoct 'poetry' from billions of lines of other people's hard work and creativity, just to satisfy the selfish desires of the fraudsters.

So there you have it. You may or may not agree with me, but these are my analyses of what I know from a career spent studying the evolution of AI and my lifelong passion for poetry. I can't pull any punches on this, because it's a crime that is prevalent across all poetry communities, damages the reputation of poets everywhere and undermines what it means to be a creative human being. It's also theft and deception, and any self respecting poet should call it out publicly wherever they see it.

Steve Wheeler

Image source with a Creative Commons licence

Creative Deviance

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 16:11:00 +0000

I have written and published several textbooks over the period of my teaching career. That was what we were expected to do as academics. My text books were largely about new forms of pedagogy and new technologies in education. By far the book that has given me the most satisfaction to write and publish is my very latest book, Creative Deviance: How to Become an Experimental Poet.

Throughout my career, I was always a maverick. In school I did things my own way, and often flouted the rules. As a teacher and later a university lecturer, I was always trying to push back the boundaries and transgress the traditional, to discover new and more effective ways of teaching and assessment.

Creative Deviance is the book that explains the roots of my rebellion against authority, and the ways I have subverted the norm and tradition throughout my career. It's about thinking outside the box. It's about breaking the rules - in this case, the rules of grammar, form and composition. There is no doubt about it. All of the feedback and reviews received to date say the same thing. Creative Deviance encourages and supports experimental poetry at a very deep level. Throughout the book, not only are a wide range of avant-garde approaches to poetry explained, the reader is also provided with exercises to practice, to bring them to a higher level of understanding about what it means to be an experimental poet.

And let's face it, the book will not be very popular, because far too many poets are happy to be stuck in the same old tried and tested rut they have always been in. Far too many poets get comfortable churning out the same thing time after time. But if you are actually not like this - if you want to push your own poetic talents to new limits and expand the way you express yourself in written form - then Creative Deviance is for you.

You can buy it on Amazon ... or you can email wheelsong6@gmail.com direct and get a 50% discount from the Amazon retail price.

Teaching and Learning: Creative Writing and Poetry

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 16:28:00 +0000

Once an educator, always an educator. Isn't that what they say? It's true in my case. When I retired from full time education in 2017 (I took early retirement from my position as Associate Professor of Learning Technology at Plymouth University), I trawled around for what to do next. I got restless and returned to the classroom (albeit part time at Marjon University Plymouth) tutoring qualified teachers on their Masters studies. It's something I still enjoy doing even though it's only part-time now.

The rest of my time is taken up with poetry and music. The former is a great passion right now, and it's something I have been doing on and off since I was still in school. I enjoy writing poetry and performing it when I get the opportunity. In 2020 I established Wheelsong Books which is exclusively a publisher of poetry and at the time of writing we are about to publish book number 51!

But as I said in my opening remark - once an educator always as educator. In 2023, along with a poet friend on mine, I established an online poetry group on Facebook called Invisible Poets (join us - it's free and very friendly!). Very soon, the group began to grow exponentially and now has reached around 72,000 members worldwide. With that number of people in the group, a number of activities have been instigated including regular live broadcasts from various parts of the world including UK, USA and Brazil, as well as other activities including photo prompts and a forum for discussion.

Probably the crowning glory of the group though, is the growing resource called the Wheelsong Books blog, which I co-host with a number of my very talented poetry administrators and guest writers. The blog covers everything from experimental poetry to AI generated poetry, 'how to' sections on writing devices and styles of poetry, and history of poetry and creative expression. It is regularly read and commented on by hundreds of poets every week. Yes, I'm still teaching - but now it's poetry and creative writing!

Pay it a visit, trawl among the hundreds of posts and see if there is something that piques your interest. You're welcome.

Image copyright by Steve Wheeler 2025

Poetry Turing Test

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Thu, 23 Mar 2023 11:27:00 +0000

If you've read this blog previously you'll know that I'm both a poet and a computer scientist. Recently I have been researching the alleged capability of OpenAI's ChatGPT to write poetry. Some have expressed concerns that AI will soon replace poets, artists, musicians and other creatives. So I thought I would perform a little experiment. Here's a challenge for you: A sort of poetry Turing Test if you will. Can you tell the difference between a computer generated poem and one written by a human being?

Earlier today I asked ChatGPT to write a Pantoum about love. I also wrote a Pantoum, based on the same rules of the fixed form poem. Both are below. But which one is the AI generated poem... and which is mine? I welcome all of your comments. 

1: LOVE ON FIRE 

Love, a feeling that never fades, 
An eternal flame that burns within, 
A bond that lasts through all the shades, 
A journey that never has an end. 

An eternal flame that burns within, 
A warmth that spreads from heart to heart, 
A journey that never has an end, 
A connection that's never torn apart. 

A warmth that spreads from heart to heart, 
A spark that ignites a fiery passion, 
A connection that's never torn apart, 
A love that defies all reason. 

A spark that ignites a fiery passion, 
A bond that lasts through all the shades, 
A love that defies all reason, 
Love, a feeling that never fades.

2: LOVE ON FIRE 

I dream of love that never fades, 
Igniting flames that rage like sin, 
A fire that warms when cold invades, 
Hot furnace, blazing deep within 

Igniting flames that rage like sin, 
A spark that leaps from heart to heart, 
Hot furnace, blazing deep within, 
A conflagration work of art. 

A spark that leaps from heart to heart, 
With embers that can never die
A conflagration work of art,
A love that reaches to the sky 

With embers that can never die, 
A fire that warms when cold invades, 
A love that reaches to the sky, 
I dream of love that never fades

Steve Wheeler Poetry on Facebook
Steve Wheeler's Poetry Blog

Image licenced under Creative Commons

Story Machines: Can computers become creative writers?

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Fri, 15 Jul 2022 09:00:00 +0000

An old friend and acquaintance of mine from my years in academia recently published a new book. The book is Story Machines, by Mike Sharples. It's one that fascinates me because it combines two of the key interests in my life - technology and story telling. I have been involved in educational technology since 1979, and still teach and speak about my research in the area even today. But I have also, as those of you who follow this blog, grown back into my roots as a performance poet and writer. So when Mike's new book hit the shelves, I was very interested, to put it mildly. In a future blog I will present a review of the book, but before that I want to mention an accompanying resource that Mike has created to promote the book. It's an artificial intelligence (AI) tool designed to generate short stories.

One of the questions Mike (with his co-author Rafael Perez Y Perez) poses in his new book is: can computers write stories? Well, that's a big question and one that is open to debate at all levels, from the technical through to the aesthetic. It's one I will leave for another occasion. The strap-line of his book 'How computers have become creative writers', indicates he believes that there is potential. Computers follow instructions known as code. They are programmed to perform complex functions very quickly and efficiently. A computer program is only as good as its coders. So underlying the strap-line is a great amount of human effort to ensure a computer program functions correctly. It requires testing, and as a simple demonstration, is an example of the Story Machine AI tool:

I entered the story title 'I am lost', and then the first line of the story: 'I am lost in an unfamiliar landscape.' I tapped the key and waited a few seconds. The AI tool returned with the following:

I am lost in an unfamiliar landscape. I have wandered for hours, and I am tired and hungry. I don't know where I am, or what to do. I am starting to feel scared. Maybe I'm lost in a forest, or maybe I'm lost in town. I can't tell. I'm getting really scared. I hear a noise in the distance. It sounds like somebody is coming. Maybe it's a rescue squad. Maybe it's the police. Maybe it's a monster. I don't know. But I'm definitely scared. The noise gets louder and closer. I start to run. But I trip and fall. I hear the noise getting closer and closer. I can't get up. I hear the noise getting louder and louder. Then I hear a voice. It's a kindly voice. It says, "Don't be scared. I'm here to help you." It reaches down and helps me up. I look up and I see a kind face. It's a face I know. It's a face I love. It's my father's face.

Clearly, there is some story telling capability here. The syntax and context are reasonably accurate, and the story has a structure that can be followed. It has description, speculation, mystery and suspense. Whether is is creative, is again open to interpretation, and I suspect there will be a range of reactions to it. Although this is not the happy ending I would have written (I am notorious for twist endings, dark denouements and cliff hangers in my writing), it never the less brings the tale to a conclusion. I tried another:

I entered the title 'Birthday', and a first line 'Today is my 100th birthday.' The computer returned the following text:

Today is my hundredth birthday. I woke up to an already decorated room, with a big cake and presents. I got teary-eyed as I saw all the love and support my family and friends have shown me. I sat down and started to eat, then got up to open my presents. First I got a card from my grandson, with a picture of him and his mom. Then I opened a beautiful necklace from my daughter and granddaughter. I was so touched, they both knew just what I liked. Next I got a card from my son and his wife with a picture of their new baby. I was so happy, they had waited until the day after my birthday to give me the card. Then I opened a package from my granddaughter with a cake mix and cake mix ingredients. She is so smart and creative, I can't wait to see what she creates with them. Finally, I got a card from my great-grandson with a picture of him and his mom. I was so happy, he is going to be so proud of his mom when he grows up. As I sat there eating my cake and enjoying everyone's company, I knew this was the best birthday party ever.

The context is accurate again, and the story is rich in detail about an old person (I didn't state the gender) who has reached a landmark birthday. When I changed the first line and wrote today is my 10th birthday, the context changed to a child's birthday party, mentioning parents and young friends.

I next attempted to string a series of sections together and to add my own additional text to the story. as a flight of fancy I came up with the title 'Captain Disposable'. He's not exactly a Marvel superhero, but he thinks he is! Over a series of inputs, working in conjunction with the AI tool, I managed to cobble together this story:

Captain Disposable

“Could you tell me how to get to Scarborough?” asked the old man.

“It’s about twenty miles that way,” said the barman, pointing vaguely in the direction of the sea.

“I don’t suppose you could lend me a fiver for the bus, could you?"

The barman shook his head. He’d heard it all before.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I don’t usually lend money to strangers."

“I’m not a stranger,” said the drunken old man. “I’m Captain Disposable."

“Who?” asked the barman.

“Captain Disposable. I’m a superhero.”

The barman looked at him sceptically.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “I’ve never heard of you.”

“Oh, I’m very famous,” said the old man. “I was once on the cover of Time magazine.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I have never heard of you,” repeated the barman.

“Of course you haven’t,” said the old man. “That’s because I’m from the future.”

“The future?” said the bartender, incredulous. “What are you doing here in the past?”

“I’m on a secret mission,” the old man slurred. “I’m here to stop the war.”

“Which war?” asked the bartender.

“The war between the humans and the aliens.”

“There is no war between the humans and the aliens,” said the bartender. “Aliens don’t even exist.”

“They do in the future,” said the old man. “They’re attacking the Earth and they're winning.”

“There are no aliens….” The bartender was his losing patience now.

“I beg to differ,” said the drunken old man. “I was an alien once.”

“Really? What happened?”

“I was captured by the humans and dissected.”

“Oh, that must have been terrible!”

“Yes, it was. But I found out that we are not so different, after all.”

“Anyway,” he said as he stood up, rather unsteadily, “I’m off to Scarborough, and I’m going there under my own steam….”

The drunken old man turned, caught his trailing foot on the bar stool, and in spectacularly slow motion crashed headlong into the nearest table. The table upended and beer glasses and plates scattered, smashing to pieces on the stone floor of the bar. Women screamed, and a man in the bay window seat fainted in his sleep.

I can see why they call him Captain Disposable, sighed the barman, as he grabbed a bin liner and went around to clear up the mess.

I had a lot of fun writing that with the aid of the AI tool, and I will probably be back for more. It was a great aid in developing the narrative through the dialogue. Watch this space....

It's clear that there is some potential in this kind of tool for helping writers to create, but also controversy about whether creativity is exclusive to humans or whether it can be designed into, and evinced from technology. That, as they say, is another debate.

The Story Machines AI story generator is here.

shocks and stares

noreply@blogger.com (Steve Wheeler) — Wed, 15 Jun 2022 11:46:00 +0000

This is Steve Wheeler at his creative lunatic best. If the crazy cover doesn't convince you, then read on.... He claims that this collection of poetry has been twenty-five years in the making. Although all of the poems are new, the concept goes back to 1995. He began to conceive of the idea when he was playing with words (as he often does) and came up with the spoonerism Shocks and Stares (see what he did there?) It made a lot of sense to him, because it spoke of weird and wonderful things that compel people to stop, and stare transfixed at what is happening right in front of them. The poems in this collection are fast moving, hard hitting, hilarious, emotional, and at times quite visceral. They will make you stop and stare.... Containing 90 poems and an end-piece, Shocks and Stares covers a plethora of themes and is written in a variety styles, including freeform, standard metre and rhyme, villanelles and pantoums.

Some pieces are strangely epic, including 'Orchestral Stabs' about an orchestra that goes on a murderous spree, 'I ate a planet' (which rivals the bizarre Monsieur Creosote sketch from Monty Python) and 'Villain' which features an ex-East End villain who finally gets his comeuppance on the Costa Brava. There are strange visions and dreams presented - 'I ordered an Uber and a Hearse showed up instead' is an account directly lifted from a psychology study in which dreams and nightmares during the pandemic were analysed, while 'Vinyl Blare' contains the titles and lyrics of more than 40 popular songs, crafted together into a poetic narrative. See if you can spot them all!

This poet does not pull his punches, taking pot-shots at everything from opulence and the causes of poverty, homelessness, addictive behaviour, through to the pomposity of organised religion and the stupid and thoughtless acts that have driven us the brink of global catastrophe and the destruction of our planet. If you like strange, imaginative and positively off-the-wall verse that is at once both entertaining and challenging, Shocks and Stares is the book of poetry for you.

What they said:

Anyone who is familiar with Steve’s work will know that he’s a man who aspires to inspire, and for those new to his work, I assure you that you too will be inspired. “Shocks and Stares” is a very difficult read to put down, so full of very relatable poetry touching on life’s ups and downs (and everything in between). It’s an absolute winner!! - Jason Cunningham (Founder, Poet’s Corner). 

I imagine a glint in the bard's eyes as I read the wonderful poetry. There’s something for everyone, a great sense of dark humour with an added pleasure of reading the world put to rights! You get to know the character writing with the wonderful words he’s written in each poem. A pleasurable experience from start to finish, once picked up, very hard to put down. A clever, well organised book. - Charlene Phare (Founder, Pure Poetry).

Well I have to say this has been my favourite up to now, from all of the other books that I have in my possession from the amazing Mr Steve Wheeler. His poetry provokes a lot of emotions from laughing out loud to reflecting on the inequalities of the world. This is different from his other books, which are also of a very high standard. I look forward to reading more of his work. Definitely buy a copy. You will not be disappointed. - Pureheart Wolf, Poet and writer.
Steve Wheeler is an artist who paints with words leading to the introspection of imaginations. His poetry can surely cause shocks and stares. His reaching of definitions bring vocabulary to life and his words leave shadow to paper. Of more than good humor, his integrity shows through, as the greatest material expressed is the truth of one's life. Steve's exposé of literary gems exposes inner questions of life, similes of simplicities and metaphors of magnificence marinated with love lifted with laughter. As his mechanism is of pen, his writes are more than entertaining; his flights of lyrical fancy leave you wanting for more and lead you to an anticipation of his next conception. - Eric Aguilar, Poet

You can purchase your copy of Shocks and Stares in paperback or hardcover editions from Waterstones, Barnes and Noble, and other bookstores around the world, and also via Amazon (which also carries Kindle editions) at sites including United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Australia, Japan, Singapore, India, United Arab Emirates, Poland, Italy, Germany, France, Spain, Netherlands and Sweden. 