This is an advance announcement for the Tuesday, February 4, 2020 Poetry Fishbowl. This time the theme will be "If the devil's nicer than the church folks, then we've got a problem." I'll be soliciting ideas for devils, angels, churchgoers, clergy, theologians, deities, children, fish out of water, historians, philosophers, ethicists, activists, heroic leads, antagonists, other people involved in theological conflicts, worshipping, praying, speaking, listening, reading, writing, summoning, banishing, discovering yourself, testing boundaries, creating connections, coming of age, learning what you can (and can't) do, shocking people, changing the world, accomplishing the impossible, recovering from setbacks, returning home, temples, churches, church clubs, spiritual study groups, seminaries, monasteries, convents, charities, finishing schools, other places of worship or spiritual socializing, etiquette, bigotry, religious abuse, clergy sexual abuse, Religious Trauma Syndrome, devil-angel relationships, devil-human relationships, tenets of belief, hypocrisy, virtues, values conflict, moral injury, betrayal, alienation, crisis of faith, rebellion, religious language, the heroic journey, liturgy, personal growth, imprint vulnerability, rites of passage, and poetic forms in particular.

Among my more relevant series for the main theme:

Clay of Life deals in Jewish folklore and religion.

Fiorenza the Wisewoman is Italian historic fantasy with Roman Catholic and Italian folk religions.

Fledgling Grace features angelic and demonic aspects as people develop bird wings.

Frankenstein's Family includes Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis is about the God of Evil becoming the God of Drunks.

Path of the Paladins presents the human impact of divine disputes.

Polychrome Heroics has characters from many different traditions. Shiv and Turq are two characters who have mentioned religious abuses. The theme can also be generalized to supervillains behaving better than superheroes or other socially approved people.

Or you can ask for something new.

I have a linkback poem "The Bushfire Shawl" (10 verses, Arts and Crafts America).

If you're interested, mark the date on your calendar, and please hold actual prompts until the "Poetry Fishbowl Open" post next week. (If you're not available that day, or you live in a time zone that makes it hard to reach me, you can leave advance prompts. I am now.) Meanwhile, if you want to help with promotion, please feel free to link back here or repost this on your blog.

Writing is usually considered a solitary pursuit. One exception to this is a fascinating exercise called a "fishbowl." This has various forms, but all of them basically involve some kind of writing in public, usually with interaction between author and audience. A famous example is Harlan Ellison's series of "stories under glass" in which he sits in a bookstore window and writes a new story based on an idea that someone gives him. Writing classes sometimes include a version where students watch each other write, often with students calling out suggestions which are chalked up on the blackboard for those writing to use as inspiration.

I'm going to host a Poetry Fishbowl on my blog on Tuesday, February 4. I'll be soliciting ideas for thematic characters, plots, settings, objects, and poetic forms in particular. Chances are I'll spend a good chunk of the day, from afternoon to evening or more, alternating between this site and doing stuff offline so my back doesn't weld itself to the chair.


Perks: I will post at least one of the resulting fishbowl poems on the blog for everyone to enjoy, and an extra one if there's at least one new prompter or donor. The rest will be available for audience members to buy, and whatever's left over will go into my archive for magazine submission.

If donations total $100 then you get a free $15 poem; $150 gets you a free $20 poem; and $200 gets you a free epic, posted after the Poetry Fishbowl. These will usually be series poems if I have them; otherwise I may offer non-series poems or series poems in a different size. If donations reach $250, you get one step toward a bonus fishbowl; four of these activates the perk, and they don't have to be four months in a row. Everyone will get to vote on which series, and give prompts during the extra fishbowl, although it may be a half-day rather than a whole day. If donations reach $300, there will be a half-price sale in one series.

I want to promote linkbacks pointing people to the "Fishbowl Open" post on Tuesday. I have a spare series poem available, and each linkback will reveal a verse of "The Bushfire Shawl" (Arts and Crafts America). One person can do multiple links if they're on different services, like Twitter or LiveJournal, rather than all on Dreamwidth.

(See the complete list of current perks.)


If you enjoy my poetry -- or if you just love poetry in general, or want to promote interest in spiritual dilemmas -- please mark the fishbowl date on your calendar. Drop by and give me some ideas, comment on the posted poetry, encourage people to come look, whatever tickles your fancy. I hope to see you then!