Some Poet Revolutionaries
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military medicine during the war. Active participant in the French
Dada movement. Later one of the principal members of the surrealist
group. Broke with the surrealists in 1931 and joined the Communist
Party. Taken prisoner by the Germans during World War II, escaped to
the Unoccupied Zone, and became one of the leading figures in the
Resistance. Much of his finest poetry was written during this period.
Rene Char: Char was an active participant in the surrealist movement
in the early thirties and published a collaborative work with Breton
and Eluard, _Ralentir travaux_. Broke with the surrealists in 1935.
During the war he joined the maquis and became a Resistance leader in
the field.
Robert Desnos: One of the most important members of the surrealist
group in the twenties, praised by Breton as having played a "necessary,
unforgettable role" in the development of the movement. Broke with
Breton in 1930. Active during the war as a journalist and participated
in the Resistance. He was arrested by the Gestapo in February 1944
and sent to Buchenwald in April. He died shortly after the liberation
the following year, in the German concentration camp in Terezine,
Czechoslovakia.
Paul Eluard: A participant in the activities of French Dada and later
a major presence in the surrealist movement. A prolific poet, he
published a number of collaborative works (with Breton, Peret, Char,
Aragon) as well as several prose collections. Eluard broke with
surrealism in 1938 and joined the Communist Party. A member of the
Resistance during the war, he remained in Paris during the four years
of the German Occupation, constantly changing his address to avoid
arrest. His clandestine poetry of that period gained him recognition
as a national figure.
Max Jacob: One of the key members of the group that formed around
Apollinaire. Although born a Jew, he converted to Catholicism at age
39. Arrested by the Nazis in February 1944. He died the following
month in the concentration camp at Drancy.
Benjamin Peret: Active and ardent surrealist from the beginning of the
movement (1924) until his death. Co-founder and first editor of the
review _La revolution surrealiste._ Fought in the Spanish Civil War.
Arrested by the Germans in 1940 for "subversive activities," but
managed to escape to Mexico.
Philippe Soupault: Founder of the review _Litterature_ in 1919 with
Breton and Aragon. Co-author of _Les champs magnetiques_. Soupault
was arrested by the Germans in 1942 and spent six months in prison.
Tristan Tzara (Sami Rosenstock): Co-founder of Dada movement in Zurich
in 1916. Participated in the Resistance during the war.
"All the same, it is something that signifies an orientation on which
it is not possible to go back..."
--Georges Bataille
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