Conversations: The autobiography of surrealism (European sources) - Hardcover

Breton, André

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 155778423X ISBN 13: 9781557784230

Publisher: Paragon House, 1993

Synopsis

The closest Andre Breton has ever come to writing an autobiography, Conversations--based on a series of radio interviews conducted with the founder of Surrealism in 1952--chronicles the entire Surrealist movement as lived from within, tracing the origins and development of Surrealism from the discovery of automatic writing in 1919 to the Surrealists' ideological debate with communism and their opposition to Stalin.

About this title

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: French

From Library Journal:

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Paragon House
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 155778423X
• ISBN 13: 9781557784230
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 264