Conference thebay::joyoflex

822.0. "Collective Poetry" by ROM01::CANCELLIERI (Bruno Cancellieri @RIO) Mon Aug 27 1990 22:58

Dear colleagues,

I would like to propose, to those of you who may be interested, a new game
which I have devised and successfully tested with friends in a natural (i.e.
non computerized) context. I would like to see if it works well via network
too.

The name of the game is COLLECTIVE POETRY, and has some apparent
similarity with the Limerick Addition Football (see note 705) and Word
Association Football (see note 396), but should have a much greater
effect, particularly for those who play it.

It could be conveniently played via Electronic Mail, rather than via Electronic
Conferencing. The results of the game, however, could be posted in this, or
another notesfile.

The aim is to write collectively a poem, as beautiful, interesting, amusing,
stimulating, liberating, as possible.  

RULES
-  It is played by a small group of people (2 to 5). 
-  No need to set a theme or subject
-  No need to stick to any metrics or rhyme (let's say: free modern poetic
   style) 
-  No need to follow any apparent logic
-  On a rotation basis, every player *must* enter a verse
-  A verse cannot be longer than a line
-  The group decides democratically when to start, stop, restart, and possible
   modifications of group membership
-  Since there is no fixed subject, anyone can freely change the current subject

REMARKS
-  Free expression and creativity are encouraged and exercised, either in a
   logic and/or aesthetic way
-  Ritual barriers and shyness are rapidly removed from social communication
-  People can rapidly get to know each other, at deep level
-  Everyone influences and stimulates all the others
-  Everyone provides a perfectly balanced contribution to the collective
   creation
-  If the poem gets boring, a new one can be started immediately by anyone,
   without the need for a collective agreement
-  It is an experiment of logic and/or aesthetic democracy 
-  In the beginning it is somewhat awkward, but after a while people get more
   relaxed, and the verses become more interesting...

If anybody would like to try it (in English, French or Italian), please send a
mail to:

     ROM01::CANCELLIERI     
or   Bruno Cancellieri @RIO

We would form one or more groups, which would operate as in the following
example:

The moderator (player A) will define the rotation order (A-B-C...) and write
the first verse. He will send the verse via E-Mail to player B. Player B will
edit the received message, add his verse and forward it to player C and so on.
Every mail should be carbon copied to the moderator, for monitoring.

Thanks for reading this note
bruno