Originally published at: This machine spits out a free short piece of literature | Boing Boing
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leave it to engineers to not understand the difference between short stories and poetry.
which is a shame, really, because i’d actually be more interested in poetry on the go than short stories. an accurate label would allow the product to flow into the hands of those who would be most receptive to it.
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We were in New Orleans a while back and found Poet-for-Hire . Several were set up with their typewriters. We provided the topics and the composed poetry on the spot for us. The interaction was part of the enjoyment and you couldn’t get more bespoke or customized than that brand new poem.
Why not have more of those? I wonder if automating the production and delivery of literature is a good idea? (glances over at C***GPT)
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In fairness not even poets can always tell the difference. There are works by Charles Baudelaire, Charles Simic, Rosmarie Waldrop, and many others that are usually labeled “prose poems” but could be read as short stories. And arguably most formal verse has a narrative.
Genres are fine for Norton Anthologies but they’re really extremely fluid.
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I ran into these at the train station at Charles de Gaulle airport. Wonderful! What a lovely pick-me-up for an exhausted traveler.
One of my stories is dispensed by one of these machines in London. A person liked my piece and tagged me on Instagram. Definitely a highlight of my career. It pays royalties as well, better than a literary magazine. It’s the type of innovation that will help keep literature relevant, at least for a short while.
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