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When I was in college I was a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (https://www.sca.org/). To provide an evening's entertainment, I adapted a folk tale, Why the Sea is Salt, into iambic pentameter.

http://www.flownet.com/ron/salt.txt

It is meant to be performed vocally, not read. The first time I had to read it from my original manuscript (and it was a manuscript, written by hand with a pencil because this was the mid-80s). After that I decided I wouldn't perform it again until I had it all memorized. It took me over 30 years to get to the point where I was confident I had it memorized well enough to perform it without notes, but last year, over thirty years after its debut, I finally did it.

Then Covid happened. Now I recite it to myself in my head to help me fall asleep. It works remarkably well.




I would watch a Youtube recording of this!


Heh, thanks. To really do it justice requires a bunch of people dressed in medieval garb and that could be a tall order under the circumstances. But let me see what I can do.


Please make this happen, even if you can't fully do it justice yet. I just read it aloud to myself and I love it. I might have to memorize this one myself while I'm stuck at home.


Thanks for the kind words. I recorded an audio-only version this morning:

http://www.flownet.com/ron/salt.mp3

Some day I'll try to get a visual version done.


That'd put you in ... black diamond, I suppose?


Yes! The original line was, "Wheree'er I go where I my glass may raise/there shall I the name Black Diamond praise" :-)


howdy from carolingia!




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