I know she doesn't specifically say that these are all emails from Brands™ or PR people — but I think we all know the truth. Either way, that's some beautiful god damn poetry.

This poem is called “First lines of emails I’ve received while quarantining.” pic.twitter.com/4keCqPaO63

— Jessica Salfia (@jessica_salfia) April 11, 2020

Image: John Cummings / Wikimedia Commons (CC 4.0)

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“I was in Havana in 1961 during the Bay of Pigs invasion fighting on both sides,” said the great Leonard Cohen in 1965 before reading this fantastic satirical poem he wrote while in Cuba. It's called "The Only Tourist in Havana Turns His Thoughts Homeward."

Cohen's experiences in Havana, including being arrested during the revolution there, were documented in a 2018 episode of the animated series Drawn & Recorded, with art by Drew Christie and narration by T Bone Burnett. You can watch the episode's trailer below and read about it in this Billboard article.

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Put poems on pressed pennies? Sure, why not?! Oakland-based artrepreneur Lea Redmond (previously) has a dream to crowdfund a Lucky Penny Press, a hand-cranked machine that will dole out pressed pennies with short poems on them. I wasted no time getting on this because a.) I adore squished pennies, and b.) I think everything Lea touches is magic.

Lea recently spoke about her art practice at CreativeMornings in San Francisco:

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Stephen King once wrote that "a short story is like a kiss in the dark from a stranger" -- that is, sudden, pleasant, mysterious, dangerous and exiting, and the collected short fiction of Jo Walton, contained between covers in the newly published Starlings, is exemplary of the principle. Walton, after all, is one of science fiction's major talents, and despite her protests that she "doesn't really know how to write stories," all the evidence is to the contrary.

If you have feelings about HitchBOT too, this appropriately-threadbare, bite-sized (13kb) executable "poem about robots" from nickk might be a good way to process and share them.

Inspired by some of the more pathological behaviors on display in the comment section of John Scalzi's blog Whatever, author Steven Brust has created a doggerel epic entitled "John Scalzi’s Blog." Here's a sample:

I’ve done my work for the day, I’ve twittered random shit. I’ve whined about immigration; And I’m sure I displayed my wit. I’ve drunk my supper, watched some porn, And even fed the dog. Now it’s time to be an idiot on John Scalzi’s blog.

He’s the president of SFWA His comment strings are long. Lots of people pay attention, SO I HAVE TO PROVE HIM WRONG! He wouldn’t dare delete my words, Or the comment chain I’ll clog. So I’m free to be an idiot on John Scalzi’s blog.

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