From Publishers Weekly
Poet, essayist, novelist, sometime Trotskyite, and surrealism's founder and main provocateur, Breton is perhaps overshadowed by the work of painters in the movement, such as Max Ernst and Giorgio De Chirico, who are among those contemporaries he discusses in this collection of reviews, missives and appreciations from the years 1917-1923. Blending personal anecdote, ad hoc musings and historical generalizations, most of the 24 short works here (many are only three pages or so) take stock of a particular author's influence (for example, Lautreamont or Jarry) or argue for placing him within the then current exchange of ideas and styles (a somewhat breathless appreciation of Apollinaire; several often moving tributes to his friend Jacques Vache; appraisals of exiles Duchamp's and Picabia's doings in New York). The essays, ordered chronologically and first published together in 1924 (the year of the first surrealist manifesto), move from captivation with, to a dismissal of Dada, as the young Breton (1896-1966) tries to find the right mix of bravado, nonchalance and punditry: "Moreover, I ask you, could anything do us more harm than a materialization?" The translation by Polizzotti, editorial director of David R. Godine and author of last year's outstanding Breton biography Revolution of the Mind, is excellent, capturing the self-aware, posturing tone that would later drive surrealism's obsessive eros and dread, which were perhaps best captured in Breton's 1928 novel Nadja. However, Breton's readings of fellow artists shed little light on our own; there is little here that merits investigation by anyone but enthusiasts, especially given this slim volume's prohibitive price. (Nov.) FYI: This volume is Nebraska's third of five planned Breton translations, part of its continuing French Modernist Library series.
Copyright 1996 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
Review
“The essays show Breton at his most spontaneous, ‘in a state of perfect readiness,’ ever receptive to new experiences, seeking way so unshackling the unconscious, and very much attuned to the ‘new spirit’ he discerns. Several are indispensable to a full understanding of surrealism and its genesis. Mary Ann Caws and Mark Polizzotti provide apt and useful introductions, and the accompanying notes clarify references and word plays. The translation is careful and idiomatic.”—Choice.
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Choice )
“To this day, no one quite knows what Surrealism was, but this collection of essays by Breton, first published in 1924 when he was 28, is a good starting-point for trying to find out.”—The Times (London)
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The Times (London) )
