Poetry Puzzles

~*~ SPECIMEN JAR POETRY PUZZLES ~*~ for sale at the Hex Presse Shop

Poetry Puzzles inspired by Mina Loy, Sylvia Plath, and Elizabeth Bishop. More coming soon!

The letters of six words from a single poem are gathered and stored in glass specimen jars. "Sestina," "Fever 103," and "Lunar Baedeker" come in a triangular jars and contain brightly-colored letter beads which allow the player/puzzler to experience the letters synesthetically. Because the letters are also impressed on the beads, once can "feel" the letters, thus allowing for the experience of "feeling" and "seeing" as simultaneous acts of "reading." The puzzle jars can be emptied and their letter contents "solved" to spell the words from the poem. The letters can be used to make anagrams and new words also. In addition to letters, other materials are harvested and added to the jar for further delight and stimulation. These additional materials are carefully selected and are -- to a certain degree -- intended to conjure sensory details related to the poem which inspired the puzzle. Something for each of the *six* senses is contained in each Hex Presse Specimen Jar Poetry Puzzle. This "syntax of tangibles" can be used to create poems, to conjure new ideas, and to amuse, delight, and inspire. For students of poetry, Hex Presse Specimen Jar Poetry Puzzles enhance understanding and enjoyment of the poetry. Like Cleromancy games, Hex Presse Specimen Jar Poetry Puzzles are an exciting, surprising, and unique way to engage with poetry.

Cleromancy Poetry Game # 2, "cup-like lilies" : CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, curated by JESSICA SMITH

Now available at Etsy.

******six word dice for poetry, divination, and play******

*Cleromancy Poetry Game # 2, "cup-like lilies," is sourced from the work of Christina Rossetti
*Curated by Jessica Smith
*Six dice; each side of each dice has a different word (for a total of 36 words)
*Comes in a hexagon shaped box
*Dice and box are pyrographed and inked by hand
*Roll the dice to make poems or divinations



















































































































Cleromancy is a form of divination using sortilege, casting lots or casting bones in which an outcome is determined by random means, such as the rolling of a dice.

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Cleromancy Games are published in *very* limited editions (there will only be six of each). Due to their handmade nature and differences in the patterns and texture of the woodgrain, each Cleromancy game is entirely unique.

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Jessica Smith edits Outside Voices Press, an umbrella for Outside Voices Books, Take-Home Project chapbooks, and FOURSQUARE magazine. Her first book, Organic Furniture Cellar, is available from the Press website at outsidevoices.org

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There will be MORE cleromancy poetry games from Hex Presse. Each game will be sourced from "woman-authored texts"** and contemporary poets will be invited to "curate" the dice. Cleromancy #3 also will be curated by Jessica Smith and sourced from the work of Christina Rossetti. Cleromancy #4 will be curated by Michalle Gould and sourced from the work of Virginia Woolf.

**open to interpretation :)