The Magnetic Fields (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781681374604)

An indispensible classic of French poetry, this is a new translation of Breton and Soupault's experiment with automatic writing, and also the first known work of literary surrealism.

In the spring of 1919, two young men, Andr Breton and Philippe Soupault, both in a state of shock after World War I, embarked on an experiment. Sick of the literary cultivation of "voice," sick of the "well-written," they wanted to unleash the power of the word and to create "a new morality" to replace "the prevailing morality, the source of all our trials and tribulations." They had a plan. They would write for a week on every day of the week and they would write fast, as fast as possible, in complete secrecy. When the week was over, the writing would be done. No touching up.

This was how The Magnetic Fields, the first sustained exercise in automatic writing, came to be. Charlotte Mandell's brilliant new translation reveals a key work of twentieth-century literature.

Author: Andre Breton, Philippe Soupault
ISBN-10: 1681374609
ISBN-13: 9781681374604
Publisher: New York Review of Books
Language: English
Published: 10/13/2020
Pages: 112
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.25lbs
Size: 6.90h x 4.40w x 0.20d