SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION -- DIAGNOSIS: WHEN BEING ALONE STARTS TO FEEL LIKE LONELINESS

SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION:

NAME: Gxxx Bxxxxxxx
AILMENT: when being alone starts to feel like loneliness
SYMPTOMS: tv watching, sleeping, hibernating, fatigue
ALLERGIES: none
SHIPPING ADDRESS:  Lancaster, PA

Rx: Entrance, by Dana Gioia -- "Whoever you are, step out of doors tonight..."

Directions: Read poem every day for one week; on 7th day, memorize 1 line; speak that line to self (on a walk, in the shower, between hours). Let its cadence call you to yourself. Enter emptiness and listen for light.

BEFORE READING THIS POEM: turn off television, stretch, breathe, lengthen spine, become taller; stare at self with love in mirror (30 seconds).
CAUTIONS: beware the powerful pull of television, must read poem in well-lit space, standing; poem is quiet, listen closely. POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: you may feel dizzy with possibility; extreme self-love and lightness of being; may cause visible inner glow; world will appear lit up with truth and beauty.
OVERDOSE: take as directed, feel free to distribute widely, repeat directions as necessary or until mind fills with light.

December 2009

SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION -- DIAGNOSIS: WINTER BLUES ON THE OCCASION OF A BIRTHDAY

SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION:

NAME: Mxxxxxx Axxxxxx
AILMENT: winter blues on the occasion of a birthday
ALLERGIES: none
SHIPPING ADDRESS:  Severna Park, MD

Rx: poem #12 by Inger Christensen -- "life, the air we inhale exists/a lightness in it all, a likeness in it all..."

Directions: un-scroll and read poem at precisely the exact hour of the anniversary of your birth; walk to open window and conjure sunlight; repeat your favorite word in poem 3x; may sleep with poem in soft chair; wake with laughter

BEFORE READING THIS POEM: remember your passions; listen closely for inner songs; think of your garden; breathe
CAUTIONS: do not read this poem in a cold, dark room POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: energized dancing in the kitchen; desire to shout your passion into coldest air; a willingness to run barefoot through snow; eating sunlight
OVERDOSE: take this poem as directed; repeat as necessary, or until compelled to wake and wander

December 2009

SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION -- DIAGNOSIS: LESS THAN NOMINAL ORBIT

SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION:

NAME: SPUTNIK
AILMENT: less than nominal orbit, currently at 200 km x 917 km but should be 223 km x 950 km
SYMPTOMS: orbit currently at 200 km x 917 km
ALLERGIES: hypergolic propellants; bad poetry but not bad enough
SHIPPING ADDRESS: xxxx xxxxx Chicago, IL
606xx

Rx: A Clear Midnight, by Walt Whitman-- "This is thy hour, O Soul, thy free flight into the wordless.."

Directions: Keep in sealed, dry space pocket; Astronaut whispers once at 203 km x 924 km; wait 5 days; shout poem at highest volume when reaching 223 km x 950 km; if toxicity occurs, contact god immediately; nominal orbit depends on faith

BEFORE READING THIS POEM: make peace with the mystery of stars; let go of nationalist performance anxiety
CAUTIONS: may cause euphoric visions of world peace; may cease space-race; POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: inter-planetary communion with other life forms; hydrozinical hallucinations; the desire to learn how to swim with dolphins.
OVERDOSE: contact god immediately for further direction should you keep spinning in orbit but never align.

December 2009

SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION -- DIAGNOSIS: CUBICLE-SYNDROME

SAMPLE PRESCRIPTION:

NAME: Dxxxxxx Exxxxxxx
AILMENTS: lack of creative identity/boxed in/low ceiling/scratchy, institutional voice/high doses of florescent lighting
SYMPTOMS: longing, hunger, aching, numbness, dull pain
ALLERGIES: no known allergies
SHIPPING ADDRESS: xxxxxxxxxx Chicago, IL 606xx

Rx: Wild Geese by Mary Oliver

Directions: Read poem 3x over the next 3 weeks until signs of awakening occur. Memorize 2 lines and whisper to self at night. Repeat as necessary until symptoms wane.

Take as directed.

BEFORE READING POEM: Breathe. Find a quiet place away from distraction.
CAUTIONS: Do not read poem under florescent lighting; do not panic if healing lag time occurs.
POSSIBLE SIDE EFFECTS: heightened criticality of the institution; desire to bolt and run free; belief that you can fly
OVERDOSE: not possible

Once healed, feel free to distribute as needed.

December 2009

HOW TO ORDER A POETRY PRESCRIPTION

Each prescription is custom-made and sent to the name and address you provide via the U.S. postal service.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
We get it. Times are hard. So we're suggesting a minimum of $30.00 for each prescription, which includes prescribing, typing, scrolling, labeling, and shipping costs. Order two prescriptions for $50.00. We'll take donations though of any kind. You can send payment to Amanda Lichtenstein via PayPal using alichtenstein@gmail.com. All proceeds from this project will support an upcoming break arts' girls' poetry project in Zanzibar, an island off Tanzanian coast on the Indian Ocean.

Ready to place an order?

Please answer the following questions:

* name:
* name of person to consume poem: [if different from you]
* ailment/diagnosis: [in a few words, what's the main issue you'd like addressed and what feeling do you want to have after consuming it?]
* symptoms: [briefly describe the effects/behaviors/moods of the ailment/condition so that we can further prescribe the right poem and directions]
* allergies: [let us know if there are any poems/poets you absolutely hate/can't read/don't ever want to deal with again]
* shipping address: [where should we send the poetry prescription?]

send this information to alichtenstein@gmail.com -- taking orders 24 hours a day!

Subject line: poetry.pharmacy.name.date

Once we receive your information, we can do a free consultation via email / g-chat to further discuss the treatment. Once the order is activated on our end, We'll expect payment vial PayPal.

DESCRIPTION OF ROYALE ELIXIR POETRY PHARAMACY PROJECT

Suffering an existential crisis? The pain of heartbreak? Psychic bail out? Disconnect between mind and body? General malaise or melancholia? The Royale Elixir Pharmacia du Amor is a poetry pharmacy that prescribes just the right poem to heal you. Wewill listen carefully to your symptoms, assess your situation, and provide you with a poem scrolled in a pill bottle, along with detailed directions on how to consume it.

We believe that poetry and poetic text, when read in context at the right time, has the potential to heal, inform, alleviate, and shift our thinking & feeling. We're so obsessed with the recent health care debate that we've nearly forgotten about other forms of healing, just as powerful, and just as significant -- to reunite mind and body, to tend to the interior life.

We accept all pre-existing conditions, we can cover your dependents, we will not turn you away due to lack of coverage. The Royale Elixir Pharmacia du Amor wants to send you a poem, the right poem, for the right reason, today.

Love is limitless.

All proceeds from this project will support an upcoming girl's poetry project on the island of Zanzibar, off the coast of Dar es Salaam, in Tanzania, on the Indian Ocean. Check out www.breakarts.org for more information on the Textile as Text: Kanga Poetry Project, Zanzibar 2010.