University of Oxford
40 Holywell Street, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 3SP
UK
SURREALISM, noun, masc., Pure psychic automatism by which it is intended to express, either verbally or in writing, the true function of thought. Thought dictated in the absence of all control exerted by reason, and outside all aesthetic or moral preoccupations.
An extract from Les Champs magnétiques (1920):
It was the end of sorrow lies. The rail stations were dead, flowing like bees stung from honeysuckle. The people hung back and watched the ocean, animals flew in and out of focus. The time had come. Yet king dogs never grow old – they stay young and fit, and someday they might come to the beach and have a few drinks, a few laughs, and get on with it. But not now. The time had come; we all knew it. But who would go first?
Join us for something a little bit different. Tonight, we will play games using techniques pioneered or popularised by the surrealists, creating collaborative poetry and other works where we will try and free ourselves from imaginative constraints and habits. Leave your rational (and sane) mind at the door.