| Artsy-Fartsy Games |
| Exquisite Corpse |
| Ok boys and girls, this is how it's done: So, you're sitting around your favorite "hang" with your friends (e.g., at the coffee shop, your basement, your best friend's living room, Waffle House), and you can't think of a damn thing to do. Well, this is the perfect game for you because it requires very few extraneous materials and almost no money. Assemble the following: 1) a piece of paper, which can be a napkin, post-its stuck together in a string, or just a plain ole piece of notebook paper, 2) a pen, borrowed from the waiter/waitress, or just one you happen to have with you, and 3) most importantly, imagination. Once the materials are assembled, pick someone to write first. Remember, you need at least two people to play this game, otherwise, you're just writing poetry, and it's not an Exquisite Corpse. That person will write a previously agreed upon number of lines. The standard is four. Said person will write whatever comes into his/her head. I mean, make it crazy or somewhat coherent, depending on personal preference and style. On the last line, you can make it trail off for the next person to finish, or you can make a complete sentence. Use your own your discretion. Then, fold the paper so that it covers up everything you've written except for the last line. Pass the paper to the next person who will write four, or however many, lines. Then, fold it down to the last line again, and pass it on, etc., ad infinitum. Repeat this process until you reach the end of the page. Unfold, and voila! You have a funny, beautiful, or at the very least rambling and insane, work of poetry. Read aloud, and enjoy! Later, I'll post one that I did with my friends. |
| Ok. Exquisite Corpse is a word game that I learned at smart-kids summer camp. No, really, they have those. Anyway, I took a Surrealism class and the teacher taught it to me. And now I am ever-so-pleased to share it with you. As I said it's a word game, and when you're done playing you get a neat-o, free-association poem. In case you're wondering, Surrealism was an artistic movement in the early to mid-20th century. Associated artists include, but are not limited to, the painters Salvador Dali and Max Ernst. In case the phrase "Exquisite Corpse" rings a bell for you, it's also a little newspaper out of New Orleans, Louisiana. I believe it's run by Andre Codrescu. |
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