Surrealism

Surrealism as a major artistic movement was most influential in the fields of art and poetry and, to a somewhat lesser degree, in the fields of theatre, film and music. While it has had some influence in the field of the novel, there are relatively few writers who are considered out and out surrealists. Writers as diverse as Kenneth Patchen, Robert Desnos, Louis Aragon, Raymond Queneau, Leonora Carrington and David Gascoyne have all been labeled surrealist and Oulipo has been seen as a natural successor to surrealism. Key features, such as art coming from the unconscious, unusual juxtapositions, automatic writing and non sequiturs, have led to many writers using techniques called surrealist, from Peter Carey to Julien Gracq, from Anaïs Nin to John Hawkes. One can argue whether they are in any way surrealist but there is no doubt that these and many other have been influenced by surrealism.

The Modern Novel

The world-wide literary novel from early 20th Century onwards

Surrealism

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