Join the Poetry Experiment on “Our Exquisite Corpse”

So, I’m big on poetry. Reading it, writing it, hearing it performed, sometimes even performing it. But lately, I’ve been lacking on inspiration and feeling this need for a new project. And, like many people do, I turned to the internet.

My new project is called “Our Exquisite Corpse.” It’s a Tumblr-based surrealist game/experiment. Basically, old time-y surrealist writers would do this experiment where they’d write down a line, fold over the paper so it couldn’t be seen, and pass it on to the next person, who would write another line. After everyone had contributed, it was read in it’s completed form.

The Exquisite Corpse is a tradition at shows put on by The Typewriter Girls Poetry Cabaret, a group in Pittsburgh I’ve been able to work with run by awesome ladies I’m very lucky to call friends. Throughout the show, the EC is added to by audience members on a typewriter, and every show concludes with the reading of the Exquisite Corpse.

Well, I figured, with social media and networking, it shouldn’t be too hard to do something like this online, right? RIGHT! So, I’ve set up a Tumblr called Our Exquisite Corpse and am asking people to stop by and sumbit a line. Once we’re reached 25 submissions, the poem will be posted for everyone to read and a new poem will be started.

Believe it or not, I have heard some truly fantastic stuff come from Exquisite Corpse experiments, and I think you’ll be surprised at how well it can work. But the point isn’t just to make poetry, the point is for EVERYONE to make poetry. I especially want people who don’t consider themselves poets or great writers to send stuff in, because part of the idea is to let you all know that everyone is a poet. Also, to quote a few signs from a TWG show:

I want to return poetry to the world, to the streets and, hell, to the internet at large. I want people to feel free to create and experiment and even fail. I want a lot of things.

And I figure poetry is a good start. So please, come by and leave a line. You can be totally anonymous and, like I state in our FAQ:

I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE!

Write anything.

WHAT IF WHAT I WRITE IS STUPID?

It’s not.

REALLY?

I promise.

BUT I’M NOT REALLY A POET!

Yes, you are. We’re all poets, in the end.