Posts on scrabble

Last year, Jenn Knoblock, Jim Danielson, and I ended up in some strange sparring in which we tried to use the highest proportion of high-scoring letters in Scrabble... in a poem. Jim took top honors with an average score of 2.8194 points per letter. (My own score was 2.725.) Anyway, gluttons for punishment that we are, we're back. Here's my new horror:
 

The Quartz Zyzzyva (Just Kidding)

Kooky Jack's poxy yak
grew boxy with ivy and fuzz.
Folk took it for grizzly if it was drizzly.
(Quizzically often, it was.)
Vexed, with his ax, Jack gave a whack,
then—zip, zap—gave it a buzz.
 

Scoring (Scrabble points/number of letters):

Kooky 16/5 Jack's 18/5 poxy 16/4 yak 10/3
grew 8/4 boxy 16/4 with 10/4 ivy 9/3 and 4/3 fuzz. 25/4
Folk 11/4 took 8/4 it 2/2 for 6/4 grizzly 29/7 if 5/2 it 2/2 was 6/3 drizzly. 29/7
(Quizzically 43/11 often, 8/5 it 2/2 was.) 6/3
Vexed, 16/5 with 10/4 his 6/3 ax, 9/2 Jack 17/4 gave 8/4 a 1/1 whack, 17/5
then 7/4 —zip, 14/3 zap— 14/3 gave 8/4 it 2/2 a 1/1 buzz. 24/4

Total: 443/143=3.097

I really hope I got the math right. I am far too tired to check it again, but please feel free. I daresay I hope this is the nerdiest thing I do for the rest of the year, because I am drained! I do not want to admit how much time I spent writing this thing. TOO MUCH.

Last week, a reader commented that poetry prompts can be gimmicky. True, but sometimes they’re also great creative un-stickers—not to mention fun! Here’s a Poetry Friday post of prompted poems.

At The Miss Rumphius Effect this week, the Poetry Stretch was to write a poem in “diminishing” or “nested” rhyme. Each rhyming word is contained within the previous one. Here’s mine:
 

Lunatic’s Lullaby

Hush, little child, do not be afraid;
the fabric of sanity ever was frayed.
Surrender your sense when the hobgoblins raid,
for no one but madmen will come to your aid.
 

Following last week’s lipogram, Jennifer Knoblock threw down the gauntlet, challenging me (and anyone else foolish/brave enough to try) to write a poem using letters that get high points in Scrabble. We decided success would be measured by taking the ratio of Scrabble points to the number of letters. (Yes, it's admittedly silly.) Here’s my dubious contribution:
 

Limerickqxz

A foxy young doxy blew sax.
With hip-hop, she hardly was lax.
But when she played jazz,
her lip work lacked pizzazz;
then nightclubs would give her the ax.
 

And here’s how I figured the score (Scrabble points/letters):

A (1/1) foxy (17/4) young (9/5) doxy (15/4) blew (9/4) sax (10/3).
With (10/4) hip-hop (16/6), she (6/3) hardly (13/6) was (6/3) lax (10/3).
But (5/3) when (10/4) she (6/3) played (12/6) jazz (29/4),
her (6/3) lip (5/3) work (11/4) lacked (13/6) pizzazz (45/7);
then (7/4) nightclubs (18/10) would (9/5) give (8/4) her (6/3) the (6/3) ax (9/2).

327 points divided by 120 letters = 2.725

I'll be getting a MacArthur genius grant any day now... And yes, saxophones are VERY POPULAR instruments in hip-hop culture! How dare you suggest otherwise?

I am, of course, reminded of this wonderful Threadless shirt, "Well, This Just Really Sucks..."

ETA: Jim Danielson has blown away my Scrabble score with a whopping 2.8194 point/letter average! Way to go, Jim!
 

This week’s Poetry Friday round-up is hosted by Wild Rose Reader!