A cute one this week. Ever had the urge to write a love sonnet, sestina or villanelle in praise of the one who floats your boat but discovered, sadly, that while your your heart may be in the right place, your literacy is lacking?
Laurie the Logophile has set up Poetry on Demand to fill just that gap. Tell L the L, an English student, the style of poem you want and the topic, discuss it in more depth over email if need be, send money to her PayPal account (she's American so a haiku costs the princely sum of one dollar, a sonnet is five and a villanelle - tricky things - cost 10 bucks). She emails you your poem and you start planning the Great Seduction Scene.
There are examples of all the styles on the site with clear explanations of the differences between the forms so there is no chance of accidentally ordering a limerick ("bawdy or dirty") when really you're after a ghazal ("flirty and sweet-talking") for your precious flower.
Alternatively, as L the L points out, "there's really no better way to dump someone, either"…
