Literally the Void

Autopoetic technique #1: Library of Babel

This technique's constraint is word choice. We are going to visit the Library of Babel and collect words.

  1. Visit https://libraryofbabel.info/
    • You can read the "about" page if you want. It's a fun site based on Jorge Luis Borges' The Library of Babel.
  2. Click "Random"
  3. Click "Anglishize"
  4. Choose the words you want to use
  5. Write a poem using these words
    • You are allowed to add words
    • You don't need to use all the words, but you should use as many as possible

Here's the page I landed on.

Words abound! Some are fun; some are not fun. I'll write a haiku that uses most of those words.

Rake, dig--open air hell
Tax free gov'ment boogie boys
praying for rye rot

I didn't know where I was going when I started, but I certainly didn't sit down planning to write a haiku about laborers praying for a blight on crops for respite.

Honestly, I'm pretty happy with this bit of work. But if I wasn't, I could blame the constraint.

Happy writing!

#autopoetics #poetry #writing