Deathmatch Round One saw Andrea Wrobel’s “ERASER” take on Suzanne Crone’s “Dent-O’s ‘Taste-O’ the South.” In “ERASER,” Samantha Able chokes on an eraser in class and leaves notes for the living. In “Dent-O’s ‘Taste-O’ the South,” Rosco Perdu gets drunk off toothpaste and goes to a corporate meeting. Over the course of the week, Wrobel steadily accumulated votes at double the rate of Crone. Crone took her lack of votes in stride, opting to pepper the comment board with fragments of narrative starring herself, Wrobel, and their respective voters. Commenters offered valid criticisms of both pieces. Wrobel and Crone treated each other civilly – the comment board never lit up with drama or vitriol. Instead, the competitors posted mildly passive-aggressive compliments, critiqued each other’s style and narratives, and discussed their favourite writers and their respective processes. As the first competitors, they set a sportsmanlike precedent for their fellow Deathmatch participants. The question now seems to be: Will the Deathmatch remain low-key and respectful? Or will it plunge into chaos and war?
Read, vote, and comment on round 2 here