Sunday August 21, 2022
– Live Presentation with David Cohen –
Session at Noon ET (Atlanta Time).*
(*) 16:00 UTC/GMT
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For published CoM presentations please visit the G4G YouTube channel
There will be a Gather session at the conclusion of the talk, for socializing. To be added to the attendance list to be able to join please contact us via gather@g4gfoundation.org
SCRABBLEGRAMS: a delightful combination of wordplay, puzzles, and constrained poetryIn 1997, GAMES magazine held a “Scrabblegram” contest to write a story using each of the 100 Scrabble tiles exactly once. That is, a story containing exactly 9 As, 2 Bs, 2 Cs, 4 Ds…2 Ws, 1 X, 2 Ys, and 1 Z (plus 2 blanks!). The grand prize-winning entry was submitted by this event’s presenter, David Cohen, who has since gone on to explore the previously unlocked potentials of this unique wordplay art.In this session we will learn more about the unexpectedly rich history of the Scrabblegram, see examples on themes of interest to the G4G community, reveal unexpected variations, and learn tips for how any masochistic wordsmith might attempt to make one themselves (warning: it can be an addictive hobby).
Dr. David Cohen is a young-at-heart 48 year-old internal medicine physician, and an avid wordplay and puzzle enthusiast. A graduate of Emory Medical School and a resident / chief resident at CPMC (San Francisco), he has been practicing and teaching medicine for over 20 years. In 2016 he created the international puzzle contest 52 Master Pieces, w
David’s 1997 GAMES entry was crowned “the Scrabblegram GOAT” in a 2020 article by Eric Chaikin, founder of Beyond Wordplay and director of the Scrabble documentary Word Wars. David has since created over 200 original Scrabblegrams, now featured on a Twitter “Scrabblegram of the Day” and soon to be published in a book by Penteract Press. He lives in Atlanta with his wonderful wife and daughter.