When it comes to Sporcle, curators truly do know best. In this blog series, some of the great curators of Sporcle share their expert opinions on curating, top-notch quizzes, up-and-coming Sporclers, and a wee bit of trivia.
This week we feature beisaa, curator for the Poem subcategory.
How did you first get involved with Sporcle?
I don’t remember first ending up on the site, but I was probably searching for something having to do with geography, an interest of mine. I do remember that I created an account to get the first set of badges about presidents and blender settings when those came out. I created my first quiz about a year later when I searched for a specific geography quiz I wanted to play and was surprised to find it didn’t exist. I figured I might as well make it myself, and here I am today.
Why did you decide to be a curator for your subcategories?
I’ve had a love for poetry for a long time and had already created some quizzes in the subcategory when I saw that it was open and would be a good chance to get into curating. In some ways, poetry is a good fit for Sporcle because it’s a type of literature that can often fit into a quiz and that people are more likely to know the words to, which opens up some possibilities.
What’s your favorite trivia fact having to do with your subcategories?
Though it’s common to see his name stylized as e e cummings, E. E. Cummings most often used capital letters when writing his own name.
What are some of your favorite published quizzes from your subcategories?
There are some good ones that provide a solid overview of the subcategory as well as some interesting presentations – I’d recommend Incomplete Poetry by kcostell, Follow That Line: Poetry by mrsmith, and Poetry: Before and After by MoMosMoProblems.
What are some of your favorite contributed quizzes from your subcategories?
I love If Poets Sold Out by NJSB – it’s funny and accessible, and it was the first quiz I ever gave a CP to. Sonnet Mash-Up by Qaqaq is also pretty cool – it’s in the form of a sonnet entirely created with lines from sonnets by famous poets. And of course there are plenty of “lyrics” type quizzes for great poems.
What are your favorite quizzes from an entirely different category?
Anything by survivor, but I’ll mention the classic Cascade of Overlapping Clues – challenging, but a work of art. Also needapausebutton’s detailed Famous from the XXth Century missing word series.
Which Sporcle Group do you frequent most often?
Find the Star, the geography guessing game. I started at the beginning and am still doing it, though I also check in on plenty of other groups as well.
How can Sporclers in your subcategories best contact you?
You can send me a message through Sporcle.
Are there any Sporclers whose quizzes you think merit more attention than they get?
As far as poetry goes, viewless_wiings and handsomechuck have recently made some great quizzes in this sometimes-niche subcategory. Among longer-established quizmakers, both ZYX and xyz_ have gotten some recognition but I think can still be considered underrated.
Haiku or favorite Dad Joke (or both):
The summer grasses—
Of the brave soldiers’ dreams
The aftermath.
—Matsuo Bashō
