Each week a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many Librivox volunteers as possible!
This week concludes our April Fool's Day Poetry Extravaganza with The Purple Cow by Gelett Burgess. If you're like me, you heard this verse as a child. Well, now you know who wrote it in case you're ever a contestant on Jeopardy!.
Here is the poem at Bartleby: http://www.bartleby.com/104/36.html
And Wikipedia on the author: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gelett_Burgess
For the holiday, we're also taking some license and having a little extra fun with this one. Ready to get started? Here we go!
Before Recording,
Please check the Recording Notes thread:
http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430
If this is your first recording, you'll also find this useful:
http://librivox.org/wiki/moin.cgi/NewbieGuideToRecording
And please be sure that your recording software is set to the following technical specifications:
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44100 kHzs
Start Recording!
Because we use the abbreviated "librivox disclaimer" for weekly poetry, start by saying the title and author, in this case...
Then, say the abbreviated disclaimer:The Purple Cow
(Reflections on a Mythic Beast Who's Quite Remarkable, at Least.)
by Gelett Burgess.
Be sure to mention April Fool's Day in the disclaimer! (The reason for this will become clear presently.)read for Librivox.org for April Fool's Day 2006,
by [Your Name]
(If desired, add your location, your personal URL, etc.)
Now read the body of the poem...
And this is where the April Fool comes in. In the first line of the poem (not in the title, only in the first line of the body), replace the word "purple" with a descriptor of your choice---a color, a flavor, one word or twenty, whatever you want!I never saw a [*Purple*] Cow; <-- SEE NOTE BELOW!
I never hope to See One;
But I can Tell you, Anyhow,
I'd rather See than Be One.
Within common-sense boundaries of course; please try to keep it in the spirit of harmless, silly fun. No obscenities or slights, avoid copyrights and trademarks, etc.
This is what made it important to mention April Fool's Day in the disclaimer, to warn listeners of tomfoolery to follow. Leaving "Purple" in the title is another way to let them know it's a joke and not the actual text of the poem, and there will be a "straight version" included as well (already taken care of; none of you need to record it).
Please note that we're releasing these recordings into the public domain like always, so you're giving up your copyright to your own creative description of this unique cow. I figure most people here are okay with that, though.
At the End say:
After Recording,End of poem.
Save your recording as an mp3 file using the following filename and ID3 tag format:
File name ? all in lowercase: purple_cow_burgess_[your initials in 4 letters or less].mp3
ID-3 tags:
Title: The Purple Cow - Read by [your initials]
Artist: Gelett Burgess
Album: LibriVox Weekly Poetry
Comments (Optional): Public Domain; read by [your name]
You may either post a link to your completed files here in the thread or email them to me via http://www.yousendit.com/ at this address: foxinthestars AT yahoo DOT co DOT uk. If you use yousendit, please post the link it generates in this thread as well.
When you post your link, please include your name as you would like it credited on the catalog page and any URL by which you would like it accompanied.
If you wish to contribute, please have your readings submitted by 5:00 p.m. CDT on Saturday, April 8th (that's 22:00 GMT/UTC/Zulu time same date).
Enjoy!
(And remember, anyone who submits a recording can choose the next weekly poem! If you'd like to suggest a poem or coordinate a future Weekly Poetry project, please visit this thread: http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1114)
PS: As is my habit when I coordinate poems, I cheated and recorded mine ahead of time. Here it is:
http://www.shininghalf.com/sharepics/purple_cow_burgess_lf.mp3
