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The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:34 am
by Dee
This is a fun game from the 'Unseen Poetry and the Creative Porcess' course on FutureLearn.
On four small pieces of paper write
1. A concrete noun = name of something that can be touched or expericed through our five senses ("mosquito")
2. The definition for the concrete noun ("an annoying pest that sucks you're blood")
3. An abstract noun = an idea, a concept ("marriage")
4. The definition of the abstract noun ("sharing your life with the person you love with a promise of forever")
Repeat the above, creating a pool of concrete and abstract words and their definitions. Mix up the words, mix up the definitions. Then turn them upside down and start creating random new pairs of words and their definitions.
This is when I ended up with:
"Marriage - an annoying little pest that sucks your blood"
I thought it could be fun to create a big pool of words/definitions here, so we could play with one another's words/definitions as well.
These can work brilliantly as metaphor-creators, and provide inspiration for lines, even full poems.
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:41 am
by Dee
CONCRETE/ABSTRACT NOUNS:
Feral Cat
Candle
Mosquito
Book
River
Drum
***
Music
Religion
Mindfulness
Marriage
Dream
Death
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 6:48 am
by Dee
DEFINITIONS:
a small animal that ranges freely avoiding humans
lights up a space with a living flame
an annoying little pest that sucks your blood
a bunch of words bound together
flowing water
a vessel for rhythms
sounds arranged to please
believing in god
being fully immersed in the moment
sharing your life with a person you love with a promise of forever
visions that aren’t real
what comes after life
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 7:03 am
by Dee
These were the best combination I've gotten when I played with the above:
Feral cats - visions that aren’t real
Candle - what comes after life
Drums - believing in god
Music - flowing water
Arranging it more like a poem, it has become:
visions prowl
like feral cats
in the flickering candlelight
hissing prophecies
of life after this
so beat your drum now
like it's your religion
music is flowing water
when dark visions prowl
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Mon Aug 17, 2020 3:23 pm
by Lori
Ooh!! Very fun and it spawned such a wonderful poem. Writing prompts can be so surprising. Love it! Creating a collective word pool here is a stellar idea.
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 7:04 am
by Dee
This game is the next exercise in the 'How to Grow Your Own Poem' book, so you might want to give it a go, Ladies? It's a lot of fun, but even more fun doing it together, if we could come up with a joint pool of words/definitions here together!
So I'm going to provide here a 8 words, can someone please provide definitions and suggest 8 new words?
If we play a few rounds of this, we will have a nice bank of words and definitions for all of us to play with?
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Sat Feb 12, 2022 7:10 am
by Dee
Please provide definitions for the following 8 words, then post 8 new words for someone else to define. 4 concrete and 4 abstract:
Concrete:
Cake
Shelf
Cat
Seed
Abstract:
Insomnia
Peace
Silence
Dance
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:04 am
by Moonchime
Definitions:
Concrete:
Cake - a guilty pleasure that fills you with Joy
Shelf - a support for things of use or beauty
Cat - a cunning hedonist in a cuddly disguise
Seed - a container for hope
Abstract:
Insomnia - the mind's inability to let the body rest
Peace - freedom from the self
Silence - an absence of disturbance
Dance - a telling through movement
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:07 am
by Moonchime
Concrete nouns:
Window
Cloud
Phone
Mirror
Abstract nouns:
Humour
Fear
Truth
Danger
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2022 3:19 pm
by Dee
Moonchime wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 9:07 am
Concrete nouns:
Window - an opening to a different world
Cloud - floating fluffy vapour creatures
Phone - a noisy little device constantly badgering for your attention
Mirror - a provider of harsh truths
Abstract nouns:
Humour - a blanket of laughter to wrap yourself in
Fear - heart beating in your throat
Truth - an elusive reality
Danger - a critical situation that makes your skin crawl
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Tue Feb 22, 2022 3:22 pm
by Dee
You could define these words in so many ways - couldn’t you?
That might make an interesting challenge too. To write several definitions? Going from technical to more and more poetic? Focusing on certain aspects? We could certainly try.
I really enjoyed reading your definitions, Mz K.
Could you elaborate on
“Peace - freedom from the self”
please?
And perhaps we should try to do our own words as well?
Re: The Surrealist Game
Posted: Sun Mar 13, 2022 6:55 am
by Moonchime
Dee wrote: ↑Tue Feb 22, 2022 3:22 pm
Could you elaborate on
“Peace - freedom from the self”
please?
And perhaps we should try to do our own words as well?
I thought you might react to that one. 
Obviously as you say there are many ways of defining so many of these words - particularly the abstract ones. With my peace definition I was coming from the view of worrying about the self - am I good enough?/have I done the right thing?/what do people think?/where did I go wrong?/should I? I shouldn't have/everything would be better if ... etc. etc. Self recrimination and over analysing resulting in losing oneself in inner turmoil - after all you can't escape your own mind except perhaps through immersing yourself in something else hence mindfulness/meditation. I'm not suggesting ignoring /fulfilling who you are meant to be or ignoring your needs, quite the reverse, just giving yourself space to rest outside of yourself.
I suppose it is a basic tenet of many philosophies and religions - although they tackle it in slightly different ways but for good mental health I think you need to be able to take yourself lightly and accept who you are, knowing your value as a human being.
Easier said than done I know, but in your acceptance you are freed, at which point I think there is peace.