Conversations: The Autobiography of Surrealism (European Sources) - Hardcover
Eugene Ionesco once said of Andre Breton:
"I put Breton on the same level as Einstein, Freud, Jung, or Kafka. In other words, consider him one of the four or five great reformers of modern thought." In 1952 Breton, the charismatic leader of Surrealism, gave a series of sixteen radio interviews, which, edited and rewritten by Breton himself, constitute by far the best testimony of his intellectual transformation and of the history of Dada and Surrealism. Of all the writings on Surrealism, Conversations is the only book to chronicle its entire history as lived from within by its founder.
Here, Andre Breton traces the development of Surrealism from his early association with the Symbolists to his discovery of automatic writing and his experimentation with the unconscious. (These sessions of "induced slumber" became less frequent after a hypnotized participant chased another across the lawn with a knife.) Breton recounts the Dada leader Tristan Tzara's flamboyant arrival in Paris, his own tumultuous association with the Dada movement, and the Surrealists' ongoing debate with Communism. He explains the Surrealists' rebellion against conformity - to "liberate man using poetry, dreams, and the marvelous" and to "formulate a new declaration of the rights of man."
Woven throughout are wonderful anecdotes of such celebrated figures as Artaud, Picasso, Trotsky, Dali, Bataille, Duchamp, and Bunuel. Writing with unequaled verve, Breton remembers a literary banquet, which thanks to the Surrealists who jumped on a table, ended in a brawl. He tells how Dali, as one of his outrageous pranks, would wear elegant suits onto which he had sewn artificial flies that ingeniously mimicked real ones. And Breton recalls how in a notorious public scandal, his enemies wrote a lampooning pamphlet entitled "A Corpse" and delivered funeral wreaths to his door.
In what is the closest Breton came to composing his intellectual autobiography, he writes with a lucidity and passion that places this volume among his best work. Most of all, throughout the book are the kinds of insights into the Surrealist movement that could come only from the man who embodied it for half a century.
"I put Breton on the same level as Einstein, Freud, Jung, or Kafka. In other words, consider him one of the four or five great reformers of modern thought." In 1952 Breton, the charismatic leader of Surrealism, gave a series of sixteen radio interviews, which, edited and rewritten by Breton himself, constitute by far the best testimony of his intellectual transformation and of the history of Dada and Surrealism. Of all the writings on Surrealism, Conversations is the only book to chronicle its entire history as lived from within by its founder.
Here, Andre Breton traces the development of Surrealism from his early association with the Symbolists to his discovery of automatic writing and his experimentation with the unconscious. (These sessions of "induced slumber" became less frequent after a hypnotized participant chased another across the lawn with a knife.) Breton recounts the Dada leader Tristan Tzara's flamboyant arrival in Paris, his own tumultuous association with the Dada movement, and the Surrealists' ongoing debate with Communism. He explains the Surrealists' rebellion against conformity - to "liberate man using poetry, dreams, and the marvelous" and to "formulate a new declaration of the rights of man."
Woven throughout are wonderful anecdotes of such celebrated figures as Artaud, Picasso, Trotsky, Dali, Bataille, Duchamp, and Bunuel. Writing with unequaled verve, Breton remembers a literary banquet, which thanks to the Surrealists who jumped on a table, ended in a brawl. He tells how Dali, as one of his outrageous pranks, would wear elegant suits onto which he had sewn artificial flies that ingeniously mimicked real ones. And Breton recalls how in a notorious public scandal, his enemies wrote a lampooning pamphlet entitled "A Corpse" and delivered funeral wreaths to his door.
In what is the closest Breton came to composing his intellectual autobiography, he writes with a lucidity and passion that places this volume among his best work. Most of all, throughout the book are the kinds of insights into the Surrealist movement that could come only from the man who embodied it for half a century.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Language Notes:
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French
From Library Journal:
Original Language: French
The bulk (177 pages) of this useful document is devoted to Breton's carefully scripted radio "interviews" with Parinaud from 1914, when the magus of Surrealism was breaking away from the spell of Paul Valery, through Surrealism's apotheosis in the Twenties, its fragmentation in the Thirties and eclipse by late Symbolism, to 1952, when Breton wanted to bring Surrealism (then obscured by the more overt engagement of Existentialism) back into the public eye. When initially collected for publication, these interviews sold poorly, so Polizzotti's careful translation and nonpareil critical introduction may well bring Breton's most temperate interpretation of his political and literary strategies to the attention of specialists as well as generalists. The final set of interviews concludes with two conducted in 1961 and 1962, affirming to the end the need of Surrealists to express themselves, more than please their public.
- Marilyn Gaddis Rose, Binghamton Univ., SUNY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
- Marilyn Gaddis Rose, Binghamton Univ., SUNY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherDa Capo Press
- Publication date1994
- ISBN 10 1569249709
- ISBN 13 9781569249703
- BindingHardcover
- Edition number1
- Number of pages288
- Rating
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Conversations: The Autobiography of Surrealism (European Sources)
Published by
Da Capo Press
(1994)
ISBN 10: 1569249709
ISBN 13: 9781569249703
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Book Description hardcover. Condition: Good. This item shows signs of wear from consistent use, but it remains in good condition and works perfectly. All pages and cover are intact , but may have aesthetic issues such as small tears, bends, scratches, and scuffs. Spine may also show signs of wear. Pages may include some notes and highlighting. May include "From the library of" labels. Satisfaction Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # 4BQGBJ00OJFK_ns
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