Thursday, April 16, 2020

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

Decameron



Painting by John William Waterhouse

Ten young Florentines fleeing the plague. Ten days spent telling stories to pass their time in seclusion. A hundred stories. Tales of love that end well. Tales of love that end tragically. Tales about something lost and then recovered. Tales of wives playing tricks on their husbands.

Maybe you've read Boccaccio's Decameron. Maybe you've seen Pasolini's movie in all its queer, raunchy genius.

While you wait out the virus--to say nothing of the incompetent, idiotic bluster of Donald Trump--maybe you can follow the inspired suggestion of my dear friend Hoppergrass and hold your own Decameron.

Recruit nine friends who are each willing to write an erotic tale to share within the group. Set a reasonable word limit to keep it from turning into a big task that scares them off. Just one story from each man, not ten. This is the twenty-first century, after all. Our attention spans are shot.

A fantasy you haven't shared before. A real-life experience you can't stop rehearsing. A piece of fan fiction: Kirk and Spock getting it on in the airlock, or Harry Potter learning to cast a new spell with his wand. A sci fi tale of what happens when men have sex in zero gravity. Historical fiction. Trump in hell, blowing Bill Clinton for all eternity.

Collect the submissions. Arrange them in a good order for variety, and then send them out by e-mail one a day for ten days. Or gather every day on a conference platform to read them aloud to one another. 

Maintain confidentiality. You and your friends are courageously revealing yourselves to each other. Don't share the stories beyond your circle. Choose pseudonyms if you need them.

Make an agreement not to respond judgmentally to each other if you find something unsettling in someone else's story. Take responsbilitiy for your own reaction as being just that. Make your circle a space of acceptance and safety. They're just stories.

On Day Eleven, hold an online meeting. Talk about what it was like writing, what it was like sharing, what it was like reading, what surprised you.

And then decide if you'd like to do it all over again.