Activity #3:  Exquisite Corpse

a favourite of the elephantz crew & pals, this is the easiest way to get a group of friends or strangers, whether sitting around watching movies,  smoking on the park, in class, or on the roof to write a sweet surrealist poem. all you need is a paper and pen.

 

the first writer writes two lines. then, she folds the first line over so that the next writer won't be able to see it, leaving the first line visible so that it can be read.

the next writer then must riff off the second line without knowing what the first says, then writes his own two lines and passes it to the left.

this goes all the way around twice. the last reader unfurls it and reads it.

 

 

variations:

instead of writing, return to the origin of the game and draw an exquisite creature.

don't pass it to the left. pass it to the right, the middle, the up, the over.

leaving all the lines visible may not technically count as a corpse, but it can still make for an interesting poem.

why not hold up a bank and use the money to make an exqusite corpse film?

write three or four lines instead of two.   show no more than one (at most two) line(s), however, as it will generate better randomness.

pass it to a stranger.  pass it to a person who "doesnt" or "can't" write.

write in response to a film, poetry reading, or music. this way, everyone will be quoting lines from the movie as they go along and it will make for an interesting thread of cohesion.