The artists and writers of the surrealist movement were creating their work as a direct response to the traumatic events of the world around them. I think the question of “How could artists and novelists create anything meaningful in a world so bitter and damaged?”

The artists and writers of the surrealist movement were creating their work as a direct response to the traumatic events of the world around them. I think the question of “How could artists and novelists create anything meaningful in a world so bitter and damaged?” is quite fitting for the current state of the world. By also embracing the world’s chaos and irrationality, let’s pretend like surrealism is our only answer in recovering from the traumatic events that wreak havoc on our world. Your short story can be a reaction to an event (Hurricane Laura, the wildfires, the pandemic, police brutality, this election, etc.) in the world or it can be a reaction to a personal traumatic event (like Leonora Carrington).

Requirements: Times New Roman, 12 point font, 1-inch margins all the way around, at least 3 pages single spaced, and it must be marvelously bizarre.