FAQs
“What’s the rate of infection on this thing?”
Chances of getting COVID-19 through the mail is low, if possible at all. Studies like this one show that “no infectious virus can live on printing papers” for longer than 3 hours. However, I’m not a doctor. Just a reader.
“What about copyright law?”
Because we are ‘transforming’ Boccaccio’s novel beyond recognition to form poetry, the poems are protected under fair use copyright law. Nobody’s getting sued. Hooray!
“Does it cost anything?”
Technically, it will cost you 1 or 2 stamped envelopes to participate. Something like $0.75.
However, mass postage is expensive—and love doesn’t pay the bills. You can donate to this project via Venmo @UNPRECEDENTED.
“I can’t think of anyone to pass on my remaining pages!”
If you can’t think of anyone to send it, contact me. I will provide you with another stranger (a willing participant)’s anonymous address who has agreed to receive your pages. You also have the option of completing all the pages yourself.
“I’m a teacher and would love to bring this project to my classroom. How do I do that?”
Contact me for more info about how to get Decameron pages to your students and organize a lesson around blackout poetry. I’m also happy to schedule a talk with your class via Zoom. Children are the future.
“I received an UNPRECEDENTED letter, but I’m missing pages and/or an instruction card…”
Oh, man. Shoot me a message and we’ll figure something out!
“Is this project only for people in the US?”
No - international participants can still receive & pass scanned Decameron pages via email. It’s admittedly a less touchy, more virtual experience… but isn’t everything? You can sign up for a virtual page via the participation tab.
“Help! I’m not a poet or an artist, but someone sent me this project in the mail. Do I actually have to write poetry?”
No! This is a form of poetry called erasure or “black out” poetry. All your words are already right there on the page. You just have to choose them. Feel free to put in a lot or a smidge of effort.
Can I participate in this project more than once?
But of course.
“When I send my page back to UNPRECEDENTED, will my name be published without my permission?”
No. All poems should be returned back to me anonymously. Your only identifying information on the return envelope should be a zip code.