Today we set out early to spend the entire day inhabiting the IRL fairytale that is southern Bohemia’s Česky Krumlov. Česky Krumlov is so uniquely charming, it’s a little hard to believe – from the endless orange-roofed views, to the serpentine cobblestoned roads, to the moat of actual bears circling its castle. Our students were equipped with maps and an exploratory scavenger hunt, where each “item” to be found corresponded to a brief writing exercise. Here are their prompts:
Spot the bears that guard the Česky Krumlov palace. Write a brief scene in which someone attempts to cross the moat.
- Spot the bears that guard the Česky Krumlov palace. Write a brief scene in which someone attempts to cross the moat.
- Stop in at the Knihkupectví Expedice bookstore. Write a book cover blurb in English for one of the Czech books.
- Climb the Castle bell tower. Write a haiku.
- Stroll through the Castle Gardens. Write an un-romantic vignette set in a garden.
- Step through the Budějovická gate. Write a scene in which a stranger arrives in town.
- Locate the frog and water deity fountain. Write a dialogue between the two statues.
- Visit the marionette museum. Write a spell.
- Check out the Lifecycle Paintings on Latrán No. 53. Write your own 10-stage life cycle.
- Visit the Egon Schiele Art Centrum gallery. Pick a painting and write a poem or flash fiction adaptation inspired by that painting without using any adjectives.
And here is what some of our masterminds came up with:
Kaley M. ––
They walk in time but don’t notice it, since their eyes are glued together and their pupils are drying with age. They walk in time but don’t notice it, since she stopped listening when she was seventeen and fell in a field of roses, when thorns pricked her legs sharper than knives and she vowed never to marry because only the lily petals on her bedroom window wouldn’t hurt her skin. They walk in time but don’t notice it, ever since he lost his favorite ring to the draft checks and they told him he was too thin, too sickly, too much of an artist to survive. They walk in time but don’t notice it because they’ve chosen to live in darkness and come out at night, among the timeless stars that are already dead and decaying. They walk in time but don’t notice it, because somehow along the Milky Way road of solitude and quiet, they found each other.
Karly K. ––
A university student by the name of Emma sits in an overgrown garden, unknown by name, or by any human, she believes. She does not know how much time has passed. She remembers very little of before the garden, and knows not of the after. In the center sits a rusting typewriter. The typewriter sends her messages, and she could not tell anyone how, but she always responds. Olive lives in the tiny town of Nobody, Montana. Her father gives her a gift, a snake, and a typewriter that uses itself, then vanishes into the town’s foggy landscape. Is her quest to find him again worth the cost of her future? Jesse Burtonová writes a beautiful narrative of loss and adaptation, a traveler’s tale that’ll move even the still of heart.
Abi B. ––
The little boy dropped his toy. The mother looked at his face, she screamed as he jumped down. In attempt to get the toy he jumped over and under bears. Zig zagging left and right he dove to retrieve the toy. It was then that he turned around to see; the mouth of a bear lunging towards his face.
Hannah K. ––
He laughs
Sits on the stool before the plant, placing his cane in front of him
Takes a drag from his cigar
Curls his mustache
Adjusts his suit
And as his smile begins to fade
I take the picture
And then he laughs some more
Ann B. ––
I can’t find the bears.
Nate told us they would be here.
He is a liar.