Earl Gray

Earl Gray
"You can argue with me but, in the end, you'll have to face that fact that you're arguing with a squirrel." - Earl Gray

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Facebook Poetry

    Verbal entertainments range from word games (e.g. Boggle, Charades, Scrabble, etc.) to books, plays and video.  The two most popular forms are television sitcoms and romantic comedy films.  The second least appreciated are home movies;  who among us doesn't dread an invitation to watch vacation slides?  The least popular?  Why, poetry, of course.

    As it continues to develop, the social media promises to be a boon for anyone bright enough to avoid referring to their work as "poetry".  No doubt we've all seen full or partial poems or links to them on Facebook.  This includes videos--performances and slide shows--on sites such as Vimeo and YouTube.  We've also seen photographs with poems, stories, and witticisms written on them.  These may be a couplet taken from a larger work:


     ...or a complete poem:


    Recently we are beginning to see verse on or beside pictures in a series.  If you'd like to see a complete example please "Friend" me, Earl Gray, on Facebook.  Look for "Lover's Will".

    Here is how to create and post a Facebook Poem:
  • Write or select a poem, preferably a vivid one.
  • Collect still pictures or video clips for each image, phrase, line or sentence.
  • Collect an introductory/title image and a coda ("The End") picture.
  • Ideally, use a graphics package to print the title, text and endnote on these images.
  • Write down the names of these image files in the order that they appear in the text.
  • In your "Post" window on Facebook click on "Add Photo / Video".
  • Hit "Create Photo Album" then, if necessary, "Create Album".
  • Select "Only Me" so that no one can see what you're working on.
  • Hit "Browse" to upload your pictures, beginning with your title picture and ending with your coda image.  It's okay to load, say, five at a time, hitting "Upload Photos" (twice, if required) after each batch, Hit "+ Add Photos" to begin the next batch.
  • Give your slide show a name and description (e.g. "A photo story") at the top left.
  • Once it's ready, make it "Public".
  • Hit "Done".
    Your readers will learn to select the largest picture first and then click on the Right Arrow to peel through the remainder of the slide show.

    Here is a sample of photos comprising the public domain poem, "Lover's Will":





















     We can, of course, wish for better poetry than this example. Feel free to right click on these images and save them if you wish to practice uploading a Facebook photo album.

      Plan B is to post a link on Facebook to a slide show like this one:

  Lover's Will from Earl Gray on Vimeo.





2 comments:

  1. I would like to put a whole poem into one picture that I would like to create or even just over a pretty color or scenery, how would I do that on Facebook? My name is Tianadda Craig ans my email is babygirl_198406@yahoo.com. thanks so much for your time.

    ReplyDelete
  2. If you are using a Windows based computer (as opposed to, say, a Mac) save the picture to your hard drive, go to it and right click on it. Under "Open with" choose a program like, say, PAINT. If using Paint, click on the Pencil symbol, go to where you want the words to begin, click there and start typing (or pasting). Choose a font, size and color, save, and you're done.

    If that doesn't work let me know and I'll email you.

    HTH

    ReplyDelete

Your comments and questions are welcome.