Surrealist Games Book - Creative & Fun Activities for Artists & Writers - Perfect for Parties, Workshops & Brainstorming Sessions

This is a wonderful little book for spurring the imagination, perfect for theater and creative writing classes. Surrealism as a social and political movement may not be appealing (or practical, though I suppose that's somehow the point), but its philosophy vis-a-vis the arts is fresh and stimulating.The exercises in this book are terrific. A highlight is "Directions For Use," which asks writers to come up with ordered directions for an object or an idea as if it were a product available for purchase. I taught a 4th-grade writing lesson in which I wrote down a bunch of random, abstract things (love, frustration, Medieval England, twisting your ankle, etc.) on small pieces of paper and had the kids choose them out of a hat. The results were hilarious, and produced some of the students' proudest work.They also composed surreal questions and answers, in which students would write a question on one side of an index card, then have a partner answer it, unseen, on the other side. Results include:Do I have 261,000 cats?Penguins.Do you like knitting?Raccoons with rabies.You might even say the prompts in this book will work even for students who aren't "good" at writing, or who are intimidated by it. Everyone, regardless of skill level, composition ability, spelling, or whatever else can find a way to participate.(Caveat emptor: those sensitive to having God and religion mocked, or running into the occasional racial slur—this being a compilation of older documents—may be offended by some this book's content. For that reason, I'd recommend it as a teacher's reference only, and not a book for the class to read.)