During his two year tenure, your new Hampshire Poet - Damian Kelly-Basher - will be writing a series of blog posts for us sharing what he has been up to, telling us his poetic plans for the future, and inviting you to get involved in poetry in Hampshire. Read on to find out what's happening in Damian's world!
In this blog, Damian discusses Surrealism
Surrealism began as a type of creative writing in 1920s Europe.
The Surrealists loved the ‘new’ ideas of Freud and psycho-analysis. They invented different ways of writing to show how the unconscious mind worked. Surrealism also inspired many other art forms - painting, theatre & film. Now, in 2024, Surrealism is everywhere: in adverts, pop videos & comedy.
October 1st 2024 is the 100th Birthday of Surrealism
On 1st October 1924, Yvan Goll published the first “Surrealist Manifesto”. We’re celebrating this with a month-long Festival of different live and online events.
This begins with a very special edition of Poetry Platform at Railway Inn on Tues 1st Oct.
If you use instagram, see @damkellybash or @winchesterpoetryfestival for details.
Join the party!
Try these simple, fun exercises and explore the strange world of Surrealist Writing. It’s important you do these quickly and not to edit while you write.
Don’t worry if it looks weird. It’s meant to be weird. Just PLAY AND HAVE FUN.
Automatic Writing: First, sit quietly for 2 minutes. Empty your mind. Now, set a timer for 3 minutes and write quickly anything that comes into your head. Don’t stop or go back to change anything. After 3 mins read what you’ve written. See if there are phrases or lines you can make into a poem.
Cut-up 1: Cut up all the words of an article. Put them in a bag. Then lay out each word 1 at a time to make lines. This is your poem.
Cut up 2: Cut an article into lines. Rearrange them in any order to make a poem. This is how David Bowie wrote some of his lyrics!
Redacted poem: Take a text. Circle all the words you like and redact/cover the rest. The order you choose the words makes the poem.
I’ve shared some of my exercise examples on instagram - @damkellybash
Damian Kelly-Basher is Hampshire Poet Laureate 2024-26. The appointment of the Hampshire Poet takes place every two years and is jointly led by Winchester Poetry Festival and Hampshire Cultural Trust. The position of Hampshire Poet provides the opportunity for a Hampshire-based poet to undertake commissions, lead workshops and give readings and talks throughout the county, as well as acting as an advocate for poetry and poets.
Comments