Monkey. Plane ticket. Dictionary. Go!
October 5, 2013 7:47 AM   Subscribe

The Pen is Mightier than The Diving Elbow Drop Lucha Libre is Mexico's answer to wrestling. Fighters put on masks an duke it out in the ring. In Peru they have Lucha Libro where aspiring authors put on masks go on stage where they are given 3 random words with which they are given 5 minutes to write a short story. The loser has to take off his mask. The winner goes onto another round. The grand prize winner receives a book contract.
posted by 2manyusernames (22 comments total) 45 users marked this as a favorite
 
Savage literary amusement!
posted by mr. digits at 8:04 AM on October 5, 2013


Exactly like a great short story I read many years ago! Lets see...Malzberg...Prose Bowl! Unforgettable title.
posted by TreeRooster at 8:13 AM on October 5, 2013


Considering both his undefeated email-answering record and his uncanny ability to type while wearing boxing gloves, it seems obvious that Strong Bad would absolutely dominate this sport.
posted by Strange Interlude at 8:14 AM on October 5, 2013 [17 favorites]


...and the fans think it's real.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:17 AM on October 5, 2013 [4 favorites]


That is an AWESOME sport.
posted by Sleeper at 8:29 AM on October 5, 2013


...and the fans think it's real NON-FICTION.
posted by Smart Dalek at 8:30 AM on October 5, 2013 [9 favorites]


Yes but are they Elephant masks?
posted by Navelgazer at 8:34 AM on October 5, 2013


Puppet. Water hole. Tumor.
posted by cjorgensen at 8:47 AM on October 5, 2013 [3 favorites]


Novel Writing.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:47 AM on October 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


In that video it seems as though the big display screen is showing live what the contestants are typing. Looks like a lot of fun!
posted by woodblock100 at 8:58 AM on October 5, 2013 [1 favorite]


Finally, a reason to obtain a passport. This sounds magnificent.
posted by delfin at 9:02 AM on October 5, 2013


By the way, "Lucha Libro" is a magnificent pun.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 9:51 AM on October 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


Awesome. It seems to have inspired a local version over the Canary Islands too: Lucha Libro Canarias.
posted by Iosephus at 10:41 AM on October 5, 2013


Fuck yes. I sense a theme for the next Mefi London meetup - or even better, the next Mefi vs Reddit meetup!
posted by adrianhon at 10:47 AM on October 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


...or even better, the next Mefi vs Reddit meetup!

They may avoid our subordinate clauses for a day, but against our mastery of the subjunctive mood none can stand!
posted by digitalprimate at 11:21 AM on October 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


MeFi's team can be the "Lucha Librarians" (and Reddit the "Lucha Libertarians"?)
posted by oneswellfoop at 11:26 AM on October 5, 2013 [5 favorites]


I would hate having my MITTENS words projected up on a screen as I LOBSTER BIB wrote them. If anyone needs a source of IPECAC randomness though, I can come up with FLOUNDER random words almost subconsciously.

DONKEY BELL
posted by JHarris at 2:02 PM on October 5, 2013 [2 favorites]


This sounds fascinating and horrifying at the same time.

Treat writing as a competitive sport .... Why don't they make it like chess boxing ... create a writing boxing competition.
posted by TheLittlePrince at 7:33 PM on October 5, 2013


SNRNVIOM WHYUBSDLOBV HLASNVZXLO

Go!
posted by axiom at 9:12 PM on October 5, 2013


> Treat writing as a competitive sport

Mefites must already know that this is done in the U.S. too, right?

Literary Death Match started in L.A. but tours. I saw a match in SF as part of Litquake, featuring Simon Rich (previously, previously and previously) and the fantastic, but a little scary, Amelia Gray. It's also been to the Kennedy Center.

SF's Portugese Artists Colony also has "live writing":
Vote on a prompt as you enter the show, and four writers will write on the winning topic while you watch them sweat, swear, and get inspired. Each writer will read what he/she wrote, and you get to vote on which piece you'd like to see developed into a finished story/poem/rant to be read at the next PAC performance
Last PAC I attended had writers invited up from Roar Shack
posted by morganw at 10:12 AM on October 6, 2013


JHarris, those aren't random at all! Every one of them appears as an inventory item in a Lucasarts game...
posted by Jon Mitchell at 11:52 AM on October 6, 2013 [1 favorite]


But they're random Lucasarts games. (Anyway, that's actually completely coincidence!)
posted by JHarris at 1:48 PM on October 6, 2013


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