Dada & Surrealism

On the third Monday of Poetry Camp, we jumped in with both feet, combining a little bit more sound work (alliteration) with the spirit of Dadaism. We started with tongue twisters to get our mouths around the alliterative feel, then read I Wake and Feel the Fell of Dark not Day for more alliteration warm-up. The student writers then put on their thinking caps, and came up with four lists of words that started with the same sounds. I then asked them to use their words to create Dadaist poems, focusing on sound, randomness, automatic writing, and interesting images. They collaged their words into some fascinating pieces!

After a quick break and game, we went back to work with surrealism. I showed them some famous surrealist paintings by Dali and Magritte and then we read Matthea Harvey's Bird Transfer. After discussing the strange images, and what makes surrealism special, I turned them loose with a strange list of words to create their own poems. The results are pretty spectacular. Enjoy!!!

DADA POEMS

Fast Fragile Fish
by Zinnia S.

Freckle fin feet finished
in February, fantastic fingers
faint. Fizzy feeling fib
face.


A Wacky Chat
by Cassie A.

Drag a dry wild witch.
Chair chance. Squash, squirm
chest chop willow wood.
Dream, draw, finger fly.
Blend blast square squid.
Chain a chick, moo milk mango.
Blow blue, famous fish.


The Little Mouse
by Nicholas M.

Mom mouse is going to Mars
and drinking milk saying more
milk and she is in the car
with a gigantic rabbit
and on the way she
buys a happy meal and
the rockets stops on the moon.


Squall Drag Black and Chalk
by Cecilia G.

Chopping chains chat.
Drop dry of drum.
Blue blush blow.
Squeeze my squirt of squawk.


Because of the Chat
by Caelen B.

Bleed black blame
drag squid chalk change
chance blend blind
draw a dream, dress block
blue blush blow a
squad of drip drop
squawk dry chairs
squirm blank because
squealing squash.


Squirting My Monkey
by Ronni L.

Writing the chair
changing black or
blue, blushing, a square
squirming, drinking wine,
winding, drying, dragging
drawing dreaming monkey
robbing, white winding moving.


Wonderful Mouth Wow
by Jules A.

Magic moo money makes
milk more fatty from fuzz
fizzy faboo freak finger
when water whistles wild
we wonder will worse
wallpaper warp forgets
fame? Feets from flap fin!


Minutes of Me
by Maple C.

The money monkey moves magic
mouth music marching a
million moons March – May.
A mountain man masked mummy.
The Mars military marks maple
mangoes. My mill.


SURREALIST POEMS

Oh the Things that I See
by Zinnia S.

A bathtub’s boots walk
along a planetarium wall.
The shadow of imagination
falls over a valley of
loud dandelions. A nest
of grapes in an elevator.
A spider’s mustache smells
like tangerines. A magnet
falls off a balloon glued
trampoline eating blue gravy.
A unihorn sits in
a cherry smelled sink.
The storm blinks.


Escape
by Cassie A.

Run and spread your wings.
Soar over cotton candy clouds,
and over the prison surrounded by
gravy so no prisoner escapes.
The prison you were trapped in is
over the good cherry fruitland.
Grapes, buildings. Tangerine, dirt.
Next, you soar over planetarium
valley! Trains the travel by
trampoline. Oh no, there is a
nickel storm! Rest here. Go inside
the unicorn bathtub to get clean.
Tomorrow you shall explore.
Get some rest, sleep in glory.
But wait! The dandelion lady barks
for money.


The Wars
by Nicholas M.

The big bathtub was filled
with yellow ice cubes going along
melting, and germs coming
and elevators taking
some tangerines. A stapler
stapling the tangerines
and some glue gluing
the stapler and a whale
and a military airplane
throwing bombs to the
sinks. Worms in the wind
flying and a boat
killing the whales
and the shadow of a vampire.


The Bathtub Parade
by Tilda S.

Start a bathtub parade.
A worm cotton airplane
flies in valley yellow
wings forest.


Crazy Things
by Cecilia G.

The yellow summer in the blue winter.
A magnet that’s a nickel of peace.
Some grapes in a kitchen in a nest.

Blinking birds with feathers.
An airplane of storm clouds.
Cherries on trees of coats.


Garden Unicorns in Ice Cube Bathtubs
by Caelen B.

Garden unicorns in
ice cube bathtubs.
Cotton feather boots
in a shadow.
Storm glue tangerine
dirt in the kitchen
valley wings wrinkled
up on a magnet.
Cherry germs on a
balloon nickel.
Whale ambulance
on a trampoline
mustache.


Crazy Words
by Ronni L.

I have cherry flavored
gravy. There was a
gigantic nest made
of cotton, planetariums,
whales, lots of
dirt, boats, people wings,
shadows from all over the
world, umbrellas,
blue wrinkled crushed up
nickels, loud staplers,
masked forests, and
ice cubes, balloons, and
old ladies.


It’s Your Day
by Jules A.

Ride cherry garden unicorns into
cotton worm airplanes.
Help a yellow tangerine whale into
an ambulance in the balloon parade.
Blink at the magnet nickel
in blue glory.
Sand the white
dandelion in the shadow of
the wind. Wrinkle the
mask in the sink of
germs. Hide in the summer
forest and ride the
magical grape elevator.


Cherry Worm in the Dirt
by Maple C.

Kick the cherry worm
in the dirt of dandelion
valley, shadowed summer
wings magnet cotton whales
in the glory of a blue
and tangerine storm.


Unicorn Bathtub Parade
by Maple C.

Unicorn bathtub parade
boat to the yellow
planetarium, gravy boots,
wind trains, sand ladder
and forest coat. White
umbrella lady bark
loud and clear – feather
mustaches the new mask.