Musicians improvise.  Actors improvise.  Why not poets?

This project is the result of a perfect hodgepodge of poets who have come together with a desire to push the form beyond its traditional single-author format.  What discoveries and challenges lie in the mostly unexplored realm of multiple authorship?  What does a “group poem” look like?  And how in the world does one go about doing it?

We at the Collaboratory are excited to offer one answer to that question, creating a new model for collaborative writing by drawing lessons from the world of theatrical improvisation. Because of the limitations of time, space, and those other commitments that keep poets’ lives busy, our idea is to explore the online, networked medium as a space for this new written collaboration.

“Do not fear mistakes. There are none.” -Miles Davis

Group improvisation provides an interesting point of comparison because of its emphasis on rules, timing, training, and listening to each other.   What if in writing there was no editing, no drafting and redrafting, no backspace?  What if you could practice with a group of writers, like a band or a comedy troupe, to learn how to feed off each other and become better than the sum of your parts?

Welcome to our attempt to do just that.  Nose around the archives a bit, read more about what in the world we’re talking about.  Relax, and settle in – the show has already begun.