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Correspondence – Georges Bataille and Michel Leiris

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Correspondence – Georges Bataille and Michel Leiris collects the extensive exchanges between two pivotal figures in Surrealism, beginning with their meeting in 1924 just before the publication of André Breton's Manifeste du surréalisme. This edition includes insightful essays by each on the other's work alongside personal diary excerpts, charting their complex relationship from youthful collaborations and shared dissidence within Surrealism through to deep friendship lasting over three decades until Bataille's death in 1962.
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This collection appeals primarily to readers interested in Surrealism, 20th-century French literature, and modernist cultural history. Scholars and enthusiasts of Georges Bataille, Michel Leiris, and avant-garde art movements will find valuable personal and intellectual perspectives in these correspondences.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Including a number of short essays by Bataille and Leiris on aspects of the other's work as well as excerpts on Bataille from Leiris' diaries, this collection of correspondence throws new light on two of Surrealism's most radical dissidents.

In the autumn of 1924, just before André Breton published the Manifeste du surréalisme, two young men met in Paris for the first time. Georges Bataille, 27, started work at the Bibliothèque Nationale; Michel Leiris, 23, began his studies in ethnology. Within a few months, they were both members of the Surrealist group, although their adherence to Surrealism (unlike their affinities with it) would not last long: in 1930 they were among the signatories of "Un cadavre," the famous tract against Breton, the "Machiavelli of Montmartre," as Leiris put it.

But their friendship would endure for more than 30 years, and their correspondence, assembled here for the first time in English, would continue until the death of Bataille in 1962.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781803091914

Publisher: Seagull Books London Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 03 May 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Seagull Books London Ltd

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 1.0mm

Width: 6.0mm

Height: 7.0mm

Weight: 250g

Pages: 312

About the Author

Georges Bataille (1897–1962) was an essayist, philosophical theorist, and novelist. His most famous works include The Story of the Eye, Blue of Noon, and The Abbot C. Michel Leiris (1901–90) was a writer and anthropologist, born in Paris, France.  His works include Simulacra, Extreme Evil, and Aurora.

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