"Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance.”
Carl Sansburg
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Jens Jensen was known for creating open meadow spaces that captured the light moving through the trees at different times of day — awash by the sun from morning ’til dusk, while lit up under a pale pearly moon at night. In Siftings, he described being inspired by the prairie rose, a reminder of his childhood days in Denmark. These motifs are integral to the Prairie Prose game experience.
golden sunflowers
singing prairie voices hear
glistening magic
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A creative, social experience that gives players voice through poetry. Imaginative, whimsical, and playfully fun!
Prairie Prose is simple to play for players of all ages who are able to read and count. Players create their poems with themed words from Prairie School writings by Jens Jensen and his peers. Inscribed on hand-cut paper petals and gingko leaves, words inspired by nature are scattered across a hand-painted muslin play mat that features an imagined council ring with prairie wildflowers. The gameset includes: instructions, an assortment of poetry petals, bonus petals and gingko leaf messages, hand-painted wildflower muslin play mat & drawstring storage sack, blank poetry booklet, and references.
A unique, locally made, cooperative green game. No special assembly required. Also available as a School Edition game set that includes a Council Ring Kit. Extra game pieces inspired by the French Impressionists and the nature writings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe are both available separately.
>>Available @ Marigold Games
With special thanks to Michel Ségard and Nancy Melvin.
graceful wildflowers
around silvery dewdrops
paints earthly beauty
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Players exchange poems and even write their own creative narratives with Prairie Prose Special Edition, while enjoying macaroons on location at a local treasure–All Chocolate Kitchen in Geneva, Illinois.
“I remember dancing in the moonlight, amongst the deep shadows of trees, which gave me the feeling of a folk song."
Jens Jensen
Siftings
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In establishing The Clearing, Jensen invoked his early experiences at Danish folk schools. One of his signature design features was the council ring, sculpted from carefully arranged natural rocks. Within this magic circle, he imagined a sacred space “for gatherings of young and old, where the local poet or dramatist may inspire the community with song and poetry, or the philosopher give his ideas on the philosophy of life.”
The Council Ring is an important design motif in Prairie Prose, Harvest Dreams, Prairie Fairies, and Princess on the Prairie, in which this ‘magic circle’ becomes part of the rhythm of play.
mindful marigolds
imaginative ladybugs
surprise bumblebees
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Players exchange poems and even write their own creative narratives with Prairie Prose Special Edition, while enjoying macaroons on location at a local treasure–All Chocolate Kitchen in Geneva, Illinois.
“There will never be any peace on this earth until we all learn to live, work and think together.”
-Jens Jensen
Siftings
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Jens Jensen’s poetic writings in Siftings recall the sentiments of Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, and were the inspiration to create this unique game experience that celebrates nature with poetry.
“Few words, endless meanings,” a player ponders his poem at the Westchester Township History Museum. Photo by Heather Eidson, courtesy of the Times of Northwest Indiana. Used with permission.
Timesweep
There is only one bird in the air
and his name is ALL Wings.
There is only one fish in the sea
and his name is ALL Fins.
There is only one man in the world
and his name is ALL Men.
There is only one woman in the world
and her name is ALL Women.
There is only one child in the world
and the child's name is ALL Children.
Carl Sandburg
Carl Sandburg (1878-1967) was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet, biographer of Abraham Lincoln, and author of Rootabaga Stories (1922) for children. He was among Jensen’s cherished friends who spent time with him in his council ring overlooking the picturesque ravines at Jensen’s Highland Park residence on Dean Street. Sandburg was a major supporter of the Dunes Movement with Jensen and others who defended, “They constitute a signature of time and eternity: once lost, the loss would be irrevocable.” Carl Sandburg is featured in Prairie Prose.