The exquisite corpse dances through butterflies beyond, above, and broken.

The cadavre exquis originated as a parlor game in the early 20th century and featured the “mystique of accident.”  Individuals write one line of a story, fold the paper down so that only the most recent addition is visible, then pass the paper along for the next player to add his line.  The paper continues around the room for several turns. The result: a delightfully disjointed tale. The technique moved into the world of visual art and continues today.

I love the “exquisite corpse” and use it often with all of my students in all of my classes.   It gives everyone the opportunity to play with language.  If students are comfortable playing with language, then perhaps they will be more willing to make bold moves when they are writing. Historical information about the game is located here.

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