Mercurius Magazine and Dorothy Circus Gallery invite you to step beyond reality and into the surreal at an interactive book launch unlike any other.
Dorothy Circus Gallery is proud to host the official launch of Surreal–Absurd, a groundbreaking anthology of contemporary surrealist poetry.
Join us on Saturday, 27 September 2025, from 4–6 PM, for an afternoon where the ordinary fractures into the uncanny and the absurd shines with mind-bending clarity.
Bringing together over 80 voices from around the world, Surreal–Absurd is the result of four years of research and curation by Mercurius Magazine, a leading platform for contemporary surrealism.
This immersive launch dissolves the boundary between writer and audience. Seated together in a circle, they will pass a lantern from hand to hand as part of the reading. The result is not merely a reading, but a shared, dreamlike ritual—an experience both unique and unforgettable.
Enjoy a complimentary cup of homemade chai and/or red wine. Tickets are limited, so reserve your spot before they sell out!
About Dorothy Circus Gallery
Founded in Rome in 2007 and established also in London since 2017, DCG Contemporary's mission consists of a visionary curatorial approach for a dynamic exhibition program featuring international Artists. Always escaping art gender categorisation but embracing pure, unfiltered expression, staying unconventional and unpredictable, breaking away from conventional labels and market-driven constraints
About Mercurius Magazine and the Surreal-Absurd
Founded in 2020 by Thomas Helm, Mercurius Magazine has evolved to specialise in contemporary surrealism. Editors Helm and Marcus Silcock coined the phrase “surreal-absurd” to categorise a new kind of surrealist poetry: one that combined surrealism with elements of minimalism, absurdism, and story-telling, with a strong preference for the prose-poem.
Although many authors were writing in this mode, their work seemed scattered across diverse journals without a single centre of gravity. Helm and Silcock felt passionately about this form, not only for its immediacy, inventiveness, and lovely weirdness, but also for its non-elitism and accessibility. They wanted to consolidate a truly popular form that spoke to the times and could be enjoyed by all kinds of readers.
With the critical input of two additional editors–Vik Shirley and Ben Niezpodziany–the Mercurius editorial team spent the next four years archiving the world’s finest poets working in this emerging form. The result is the Surreal-Absurd anthology.
