Dana Guthrie Martin and Nathan Moore have just wrapped up Untelling Stories, the first issue of Mutating the Signature, a curated platform for collaboration and mind melding. Working with four hemispheres instead of usual two, the duo’s collaborative efforts are quite amazing (as are their solo efforts).

A personal favorite, from the poem “success factor self-evaluation”:

“Because I didn’t know the cameras were on. 
Because I ran out of pills. 
Nobody would give me more, so I made my own. 
I swallowed erasers.”

You can download the issue as PDF here. It’s a great read and recap of a fantastic undertaking. W.F. Roby and Emily Van Duyne will be curating the next issue.

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The following entry comes courtesy of Alice, a fifth-grade student in SE Portland. I’ve been working with Alice for two years – she’s a heck of a writer and has a great mind.

Below I’ve pasted the original skeletons, followed by Alice’s replies.

It’s ________ __________ “___________ ___________” and it’s ___________ __________ __________ “___________”. This is, __________ it’s _________ ___________ the __________! The _________ ___________ _________ the _________ __________ for __________, which _______, “_______ __________.” This is __________ _________ it is to _____________.

Alice writes:

It’s tomorrow buddy “seven days” and it’s today dear that’s “here”. This is, look it’s Safe Chap the hero! The weird dork from the planet Zuok for $4, which says “Yo dude”. This is how fun it is to dream.

When ______ _________ at ______ _________ of ________ ___________ in the ________ _________. ____________ ___________. I _________, “what are __________ ___________ ___________ ___________ ___________?” I _________ I’ll __________ a ____________ of _________ ____________. Then I __________ ___________ _____________ to ____________ ___________, I ___________ in ____________.

Alice writes:

When I cry at night love of life springs in the dark well. I’m desperate. I scream “what are you on these bleak lands?” I swear I’ll cry a river of salty tears. Then I sink down slowly to my knees, I struggle in vain.