Breton's stature is much greater than that of a number of contemporaries who have received, already, far more attention from the critics than he. It provides justification without excuse, especially when the commentator's purpose is to shed light on the intricacies of Breton's mind, the significance of his original work, or the impact of his ideas on twentieth-century culture. Hence the aim pursued in the present study may be stated without further preamble: To attempt to broaden understanding of the evolution of Andr Breton's thinking during a critical period in his life, the one which brought him to leadership of the surrealist movement in France. Evidently, the focus here is narrow, the goal being to give clearer definition to the intellectual state of a young man emerging from doubt--and so from self-doubt--into renewed confidence in his poetic calling.

Regarding the Popular charts the complex relationship between the avant-gardes and modernisms on the one hand and popular culture on the other. Covering (neo-)avant-gardists and modernists from various European countries, this second volume in the series European Avant-Garde and Modernism Studies explores the nature of so-called “low” culture, dealing with aspects as diverse as the everyday and the folkloric. Regarding the Popular charts the many ways in which the allegedly “high” modernists and avant-gardists looked at and represented the “low”. As such, this book will appeal to all those with an interest in the dynamic of modern experimental arts and literatures.

What Freud did for dreams, André Breton (1896–1966) does for despair: in its distortions he finds the marvelous, and through the marvelous the redemptive force of imagination. Originally published in 1932 in France, Les Vases communicants is an effort to show how the discoveries and techniques of surrealism could lead to recovery from despondency. This English translation makes available "the theories upon which the whole edifice of surrealism, as Breton conceived it, is based." In Communicating Vessels Breton lays out the problems of everyday experience and of intellect. His involvement with political thought and action led him to write about the relations between nations and individuals in a mode that moves from the quotidian to the lyrical. His dreams triggered a curious correspondence with Freud, available only in this book. As Caws writes, "The whole history of surrealism is here, in these pages."