I've created a poetry generator to assist me with experiments in EMP-LIT. The resultant poems are a form of ASCII Terrain poem, in that the poems themselves resemble large (> 400 pages) world maps.
The generator was written in .python. I am still tweaking/updating, but you may have this version to play with: terrainpoetrygen.py
Further description from the code comments:
# ASCII Terrain Poetry Generator
# Sonny Rae Tempest
#
# 4/26/14
#
# Best viewed with monospaced fonts.
# Super-best viewed with monospaced typewriter fonts.
#
# This program will create a file named terrainpoem.txt in this directory.
# That file will be the poem.
#
# With default settings, will create a randomly generated poem > 400 pages
# at Courier New 12 pt font with ASCII characters chosen based upon their
# appearance related to terrain.
#
# Read from top to bottom, north to south, the poem which is generated
# will resemble a map of an enormous world, with changes in terrain determined
# randomly.
#
# There are near-infinite possibilities. You may need to run this program
# several times to experience all possible terrain.
#
# Be on the lookout for wildlife & small settlements.
#
# After all, this poem is their story.
Additionally, I'd published an iteration in book form on lulu, which I also forgot about. From the book description:
A Terrain Poem is a single iteration of my terrain poetry generator. I have included the python code for this generator in this book. This is an experiment in poetics and randomly-generated ASCII-style maps. The goal was to create a large-scale atlas from which a story would emerge. I chose this iteration because I really enjoyed the ending. srt #emp-litYou may find it here: A Terrain Poem , or you may download a .pdf here: A Terrain Poem.pdf
Enjoy!
SRT
