Adopted Poetry is a term that I coined on an evening back in December 2023. It started when I was cycling around the city and came across a hand written note that was discarded in an alley receptacle. Later that night I read that note in front of an audience at a local Poetry open Mic. I wondered if the unknown author may be in the crowd, or the recipient may have found the words familiar. It sparked in me an adventurous curiosity. How many of these abandoned words lay discarded after their intended use? What were my parameters to be moving forward? Can I claim these works as my own? As an artist it is possible that I am simply the father of these words now, my adoption papers vocalized through their continued existence. 

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The parameters for Adoption are as follows:

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1.) the Poetry must come to me naturally. I can seek them out through exploration and vigilance but they cannot be given to me directly. They must be found. 

2.) The poetry must be hand written and unsigned.  

3.) The Poetry cannot be a grocery list, a sports wager, an appointment reminder, or anything to that effect. 

4.) The Poetry must not contain any names (Real or Fictitious).

5.) The poetry must be presented and performed publicly. 

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