This project started on January 2, 2021,with us imagining that it might be fun to write about the Orion Bingo Hall located near Dag’s residence in Trondheim, Norway. We took turns writing scenes inspired by the Bingo Hall (these scenes were prose poems, though we often called them “micro-chapters”). Essentially, one of us would write a segment, and send it by email to the other one of us, and the other one of us would then write the next segment and send through email, back and forth. One segment inspired the next, and certain threads would continue on, until the whole piece became a collaborative patchwork. After the first few segments were written, we noticed recurring characters began to appear (a mathematician, a cleaning lady, a mailwoman, the Bingo Hall itself) and the sequence took on a life of its own. We numbered each piece, dropped some segments, and shuffled a few pieces around, and along the way we incorporated the random energy of bingo into the manuscript, with its sense of chance and unpredictability. This “bingo energy” allowed us a great sense of freedom, where anything could happen at anytime. In January 2023 we learned that the Orion bingo hall was shutting down. With Orion now gone, we felt as if we had been commissioned to document its last few years from afar, an imaginary documentary of sorts, recording its magical presence in the world.
While engaged in this collaborative process, we each began composing our own prose poem manuscripts as well: Like a Trophy from the Sun (Jason Heroux, Guernica Editions, 2024) and The Mountains of Kong: New and Selected Prose Poems (Dag T. Straumsvåg, trans. Robert Hedin, Assembly Press, April 2025). Writing these three manuscripts simultaneously was a wonderful and inspiring experience, allowing us to witness how the separate projects intertwined together. It often felt like we were working in a farm with three fields, growing different crops under the same conditions, and as the creative winds blew a certain way the seeds from one lot drifted into the soil of another, cross-pollinating. This abundant interaction brought new perspectives and a deeper understanding to all three books, and we see them happily related together in spirit.
Jason Heroux lives in Kingston. His recent publications include a chapbook Blizzard of None (Puddles of Sky Press) and the collection of prose poems Like a Trophy from the Sun (Guernica Editions). He was the Poet Laureate for the City of Kingston from 2019 to 2022.
Dag T. Straumsvåg lives in Trondheim, Norway, and is the author and translator of ten books of poetry, including Nelson (Proper Tales Press, 2017), But in the Stillness (Apt. 9 Press, 2024), and The Mountains of Kong: New & Selected Prose Poems (Assembly Press, 2025). He runs the small press A + D with his girlfriend, the artist and graphic designer Angella Kassube. His work has appeared in a wide variety of journals in Norway, Canada, and the United States.
