Unlimited Story Deck Results from March 2nd

Unlimited Story Deck at the Poets Playshop

Game #1

Once there was a benevolant ruler who decided to buid a memorial for his kingdom. (1) The memorial contained an urn of the ashes of a once great shaman (2) The decision was being made of where to place this. They decided to build it in the village of where the shaman was from. Not the largest city in the nation. It was proposed to have a contest to see what the inscription on the memorial should be (3). The nation to turn to the muses to seek inspiration for what the inscription should say. (4) The muses suggested that they should describe him as a superhero since the shaman had saved the town from the evil salesperson, who had tried to sell them evil (5) magic shoes that could make you fly. The Doctor said that that was completely ridiculous. “The muses should not be consulted. You are wasting your time” You see the doctor was a more logical thinker (6) He doesn't give a suggestions. Everyone is completely disoriented. Until the king goes and finds of the evil shoes and rubs it. A genie then pops out. (7) The genie is in fact a torturer employed by the salesman. He kidnaps the king and takes him away to a swamp to try to get information on the shaman. (8) Meanwhile, there is an aristocrat. His money was behind this project, but he felt that the muses may be sleeping. He was upset about his money not doing anything and the slow progress of the project. (9) Luckily the mythic god of athletics, nike, saw what was going on with the shoes and thought “I am in control of all the shoes and I don't like what is going on. This is absurd. So I will figure out what is going to go on the shrine.” (10) meanwhile while the nike god is taking on. The people in the village are performing and playing music and having a festival to raise money to save the king, but the festival turns into mutiny and a giant riot. While the riot is going on, the god nike has landed in the kitchen of the doctor who has naysayed the muses (11). The doctor says “This is absurd” The situation is becoming impossible. They need to use a time machine to go back to a time when the shoes were never there. (12) The town is really bored since there has never been evil shoes or shamans, so it turns into one giant opium den. (13) Now everything goes back to normal.

Playshop February 3rd Results

Opposites

The soft padding of feet filled the silence
the haro accretions emptied the roar
the soft moon filled the evening
the room closed in on itself, leaving everyting harsh black/empty
from outside the light poured in, warming and illuminating their faces as the widows opened
from within a fire burns away impurities as the heart expands
leaden remains of the righteous mind
a feather is all the debauched spirit needs
the last thing this white wrist needs is tickling

Question/Answer#1

Who broke the mirror?
Luck (she was tired)
What made you ask?
An eruption in Haiti
In order to…?
On a day like any other
Where is the end of this?
At the feet of an old woman
Why do we keep trying?
Because I asked nicely the first time

Question/Answer #2

Who stole the treasure?
The man in the moon
What is cheese?
The space between dream and waking
When did she forget to close the window?
In the midst of chaos
Where will we meet again?
At the edge of the river
Why?
Because we are here and here is now

Found Word Poems
Word Bank
Cause, mantle, otherwise, bolster, measure, hot, put, lobbying, less, destiny, lessons, expedition, widespread, amoré (love)

Renée Alberts

Measure the cause and bolster the mantle. Manifest Destiny’s widespread lobbying put less love in lessons.
Measure hot freedom in expeditions and you wind up with otherwise.

Stew

Cause: Amoré
lobbying hot destiny
to measure widespread lessons
that put forth expedition mantle less

Kate Burrier

“Why the bag, Sammi Luca?”

Cause I want to fashion my own destiny we carry our past like a bolster of fabric—i’m rolling it out, measuring my lesson, cutting out patches and putting together the hottest little dress—it’ll fit me perfectly. That’s why I need to start moving. Around here, all we’ve got is a room full of local has-beens and won’t-bes, lobbying for widespread freedom. Then they go home to polish old trophies on dusty mantles.
I say, less talk and more walk, if you please. Otherwise, what’s the point? Me, i’m going on an expedition and that, that’s amoré.

Results of First Pittsburgh Poets Playshop

One Result of the Surrealist game "Time Traveler's Potlatch"

Fritz's note for "Time Traveler's Potlatch"

The poem formed from the collaborative writing game "Opposites"

keep passing the open windows
close the windows, close the doors
feel the breeze, welcome strangers
longing for cool air, they seek to forget new faces
I love it when the club gets hot, meeting new people.
Being very shy, I don't like to meet people. Clubs should always be on the cool side. Definitely.
Outgoing, I love every stranger. Crowds can never be hot. Maybe.



Our first poem as a group, the collaborative writing game "Exquisite Corpse"

birds silhouettes scattered from tree silhouettes
Humor laughs out loud--loud!
The ball bounces against the resistance of wall
Through three archways
mixing poetry classes with 808 philosphies
into the windows and out of the windows
Tchaikovsky resonates in today
The exquisite corpse isn't!
hands on top of hands
poetry collaboration is like the Borg on Star Trek the Next Generation
This is a new year let's remember to embrace our loved ones with cheer.

EMILY DICKINSON

You of sparse interactions

consulting your internal dictionary of sights and sounds

surprise us with what you see.

You wake us to the light,

the sun, the sky,

the birds, the days

you held inside.

You write - and we see, too.

MARIE ANTOINETTE

You lived your life

in wigs and fancies of excellence of your age,

eating the cakes that you became infamous for,

enjoying the position your husbands state conferred.

You came to your end

without awareness of Marxian economics

and without a Bible in your hand.

Our Agenda for the First Playshop