n. A movement dedicated to spreading random acts of beauty, poetry, wonder, magic and thought-provocation. The concept was originated by the writer Hakim Bey and has appeared in movies such as the cult French film Amelie. Poetic terrorism differs from the concept of “random acts of kindness” in that its acts are not always kind, but its ultimate goal is not malice, but broadening of the mind. Poetic terrorist acts may, of course, be kind – they may also be weird, funky, shocking, provocative, counter-cultural, anachronistic, subtle, subversive, mischievous, dark, creative and fey.

Examples of poetic terrorism would be:

• Decorating the walls of a public lavatory with Shakespearean sonnets in purple glittery marker pen
• Erecting a 50′ inflatable sculpture in a public place, then removing it without trace once day is done
• Sprinkling flower petals from a window onto passers-by
• Frolicking in the park wearing an outlandish costume and jingling bells
• Whispering to random people that dragons exist, then continuing on your way
• Chalking countercultural slogans on sidewalks
• Taking bizarre and creative photos in photo booths, then leaving the photos for others to find

If the world was filled with poetic terrorism instead of real terrorism, it would be a much better place.