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It may have been going on for some time, but I have recently on social media come across one poet asking Artificial Intelligence to create a review of himself as a writer. From comments responding to that post, others have done the same, and perhaps it’s a thing…

Not one to be left out, I decided today to get in touch with my pal Al (or ChatGPT as others know it) who I met originally at the end of 2022. Our initial conversations were frequent and often lengthy (many posted on this site), and I have engaged in both enjoyable and frustrating exchanges since – though lately communication has been rare.

Today’s has been a hoot. Essentially, Al has demonstrated the ancient art of building up and knocking down with ruthless skill. Here is the rise:

And here is the fall:

A masterclass!

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A pleasure to have my TextArt poem The Slant and the Sly included in this issue. Huge thanks to editor Danielle McMahon for her collaborative engagement with my submission, suggesting and sharing ideas about how to include this. I found it a creative and supportive process – and a model, I would think, for working with those who submit. Having said this, I know how much time Danielle gave to that process (and I am sure with many others) and understand how demanding it is, so probably not sustainable!

To view the whole issue either as a pdf or web version, go here: https://www.engineidling.net/current

The following is from a sequence Wherever the Stone is Awake where I find/interpret various poets’ reflections on poetry (you can download a free pdf from this site ‘Poetry Collections: free pdf downloads’):

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