Accordion

Michael St. George taught me this exercise when we taught a series of spoken word workshops together.

Take a piece of paper and write one line at the top of it. Pass it along to the next person. That person reads your line, folds the paper to cover your line, and responds with a line underneath it. The next person does the same . . . and the next . . . and the next . . . until the poem is complete and the entire paper is folded. Open the paper like an accordion and read it aloud. It’s amazing to see what we can do with the inspiration of one line, and how a poem can be created through collaboration and trust!