Benjamin Péret (4 July 1899 – 18 September 1959) was a French poet, Parisian Dadaist and a founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement[1][2] with his avid use of Surrealist automatism.
Benjamin Péret was born in Rezé, France on 4 July 1899.[3] He, as a child, acquired little education due to his dislike of school and he instead attended the Local Art School in 1912. In 1913, he resigned due to his sheer lack of study and willingness to do so. Afterward he spent a short period of time in a School of Industrial Design
During World War I, Péret enlisted in the French army's Cuirassiers, to avoid being jailed for defacing a local statue with paint. He saw action in the Balkans, before being deployed to Salonica, Greece.
During a routine movement of his unit via train, he discovered a copy of the magazine Sic, sitting upon a bench on the station platform, which contained poetry by Apollinaire – sparking his love for poetry. Towards the end of the war, still in Greece, he suffered from an attack of dysentery which led to his repatriation and deployment in Lorraine for the remainder of the war.[4]
After the end of the war he joined the Dada movement and soon after, in 1921, he published Le Passager du transtlantique – his first book of poetry before he abandoned the Dada movement to follow André Breton and the emerging Surrealist movement, working alongside and influencing the Mexican writer Octavio Paz.
In the fall of 1924 he was the co-editor of the journal La Révolution surréaliste, becoming chief editor in 1925. And in 1928, before emigrating to Brazil in 1929 with his wife Elsie Houston, he published Le Grand Jeu. Two years later in 1931, a mere few months after the birth of his first son, Geyser, whilst living in Rio de Janeiro, he was arrested and expelled from Brazil on grounds of being a "Communist Agitator" – having formed, with his brother-in-law Mario Pedrosa, the Brazilian Communist League which was based upon the ideas of Trotsky.[5]
After returning to France, he went to Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and entered into an anarchist militia at Pino de Ebro.[6] Back in France, in 1940 he was imprisoned for his political activities. Upon his release, he sailed for Mexico with the aid of the American-based Emergency Rescue Committee to study pre-Columbian myths and American folklore. He had originally wished to emigrate to the United States but was unable to do so due to his Communist affiliations. Péret went to Mexico with his partner, the Spanish artist Remedios Varo.
In Mexico City he became involved with the European intellectual community around the Austrian painter and surrealist Wolfgang Paalen living there in exile. He was particularly inspired by Paalen's huge collection and knowledge about the "Totem Art" of the Northwest Coast of British Columbia; 1943 he finished a long essay on the necessity of poetic myths, exemplified with the mythology and art of the Northwest Coast, which was then published in New York by André Breton in VVV.[7] While living in Mexico City Péret met Natalia Sedova, Trotsky's widow.
He remained in Mexico until the end of 1947. He returned to Paris and died there on 18 September 1959.
Works
1921: Le Passager du transatlantique 1925: Cent cinquante-deux proverbes mis au goût du jour, en collaboration avec Paul Éluard 1927: Dormir, dormir dans les pierres 1928: Le Grand Jeu 1934: De derrière les fagots 1936: Je sublime 1936: Je ne mange pas de ce pain-là 1945: Le Déshonneur des poètes 1945: Dernier Malheur dernière chance 1946: Un point c’est tout 1952: Air mexicain 1955: Le Livre de Chilam Balam de Chumayel 1956: Anthologie de l’amour sublime 1957: Gigot, sa vie, son œuvre 1960: Le premier tournage de porno
English translations
Four Years After the Dog. Poems of Benjamin Péret. Arc Publications, 1974.
Irregular Work. Actual Size Press, 1984.
Death to the Pigs and the Field of Battle. Atlas Press, 1988.
From the Hidden Storehouse (Selected Poems by Benjamin Péret). Oberlin College, 1991.
Mad Balls. Atlas Press, 1991.
The Automatic Muse. Atlas Press, 1994.
A Menagerie in Revolt! Selected Writings. Black Swan Press, 2009.
The Leg of Lamb: Its Life and Works. Cambridge, MA: Wakefield Press, 2011
References
^Surrealist Writers 1 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Alangullette.com. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
^Atlas Press Trade Titles – Death To The Pigs – Benjamin Péret 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine. Atlaspress.co.uk. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
^Benjamin Peret | artist and art. The-artists.org (18 September 1959). Retrieved 20 September 2011.
A Menagerie in Revolt! Selected Writings of Benjamin Péret (Publisher website) 28 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
March 10, 2023
benjamin, péret, july, 1899, september, 1959, french, poet, parisian, dadaist, founder, central, member, french, surrealist, movement, with, avid, surrealist, automatism, born, 1899, july, 1899rezé, loire, atlantique, francedied18, september, 1959, 1959, aged,. Benjamin Peret 4 July 1899 18 September 1959 was a French poet Parisian Dadaist and a founder and central member of the French Surrealist movement 1 2 with his avid use of Surrealist automatism Benjamin PeretBorn 1899 07 04 4 July 1899Reze Loire Atlantique FranceDied18 September 1959 1959 09 18 aged 60 Paris Ile de France FranceNationalityFrenchKnown forWritingMovementDada Surrealism Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 2 1 English translations 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditBenjamin Peret was born in Reze France on 4 July 1899 3 He as a child acquired little education due to his dislike of school and he instead attended the Local Art School in 1912 In 1913 he resigned due to his sheer lack of study and willingness to do so Afterward he spent a short period of time in a School of Industrial DesignDuring World War I Peret enlisted in the French army s Cuirassiers to avoid being jailed for defacing a local statue with paint He saw action in the Balkans before being deployed to Salonica Greece During a routine movement of his unit via train he discovered a copy of the magazine Sic sitting upon a bench on the station platform which contained poetry by Apollinaire sparking his love for poetry Towards the end of the war still in Greece he suffered from an attack of dysentery which led to his repatriation and deployment in Lorraine for the remainder of the war 4 After the end of the war he joined the Dada movement and soon after in 1921 he published Le Passager du transtlantique his first book of poetry before he abandoned the Dada movement to follow Andre Breton and the emerging Surrealist movement working alongside and influencing the Mexican writer Octavio Paz In the fall of 1924 he was the co editor of the journal La Revolution surrealiste becoming chief editor in 1925 And in 1928 before emigrating to Brazil in 1929 with his wife Elsie Houston he published Le Grand Jeu Two years later in 1931 a mere few months after the birth of his first son Geyser whilst living in Rio de Janeiro he was arrested and expelled from Brazil on grounds of being a Communist Agitator having formed with his brother in law Mario Pedrosa the Brazilian Communist League which was based upon the ideas of Trotsky 5 After returning to France he went to Spain at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War and entered into an anarchist militia at Pino de Ebro 6 Back in France in 1940 he was imprisoned for his political activities Upon his release he sailed for Mexico with the aid of the American based Emergency Rescue Committee to study pre Columbian myths and American folklore He had originally wished to emigrate to the United States but was unable to do so due to his Communist affiliations Peret went to Mexico with his partner the Spanish artist Remedios Varo In Mexico City he became involved with the European intellectual community around the Austrian painter and surrealist Wolfgang Paalen living there in exile He was particularly inspired by Paalen s huge collection and knowledge about the Totem Art of the Northwest Coast of British Columbia 1943 he finished a long essay on the necessity of poetic myths exemplified with the mythology and art of the Northwest Coast which was then published in New York by Andre Breton in VVV 7 While living in Mexico City Peret met Natalia Sedova Trotsky s widow He remained in Mexico until the end of 1947 He returned to Paris and died there on 18 September 1959 Works Edit1921 Le Passager du transatlantique 1925 Cent cinquante deux proverbes mis au gout du jour en collaboration avec Paul Eluard 1927 Dormir dormir dans les pierres 1928 Le Grand Jeu 1934 De derriere les fagots 1936 Je sublime 1936 Je ne mange pas de ce pain la 1945 Le Deshonneur des poetes 1945 Dernier Malheur derniere chance 1946 Un point c est tout 1952 Air mexicain 1955 Le Livre de Chilam Balam de Chumayel 1956 Anthologie de l amour sublime 1957 Gigot sa vie son œuvre 1960 Le premier tournage de porno English translations Edit Four Years After the Dog Poems of Benjamin Peret Arc Publications 1974 Irregular Work Actual Size Press 1984 Death to the Pigs and the Field of Battle Atlas Press 1988 From the Hidden Storehouse Selected Poems by Benjamin Peret Oberlin College 1991 Mad Balls Atlas Press 1991 The Automatic Muse Atlas Press 1994 A Menagerie in Revolt Selected Writings Black Swan Press 2009 The Leg of Lamb Its Life and Works Cambridge MA Wakefield Press 2011References Edit Surrealist Writers Archived 1 November 2011 at the Wayback Machine Alangullette com Retrieved 20 September 2011 Atlas Press Trade Titles Death To The Pigs Benjamin Peret Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Atlaspress co uk Retrieved 20 September 2011 Benjamin Peret artist and art The artists org 18 September 1959 Retrieved 20 September 2011 1 dead link Claude Courtot Benjamin Peret 1899 1959 Benjamin peret org Retrieved 20 September 2011 Heath Nick 1919 1950 The politics of Surrealism The Anarchist Library Archived from the original on 3 October 2012 Retrieved 10 July 2021 Benjamin Peret La parole est a Peret New York 1943 also in Œuvres completes Tome 6 Les Ameriques et autres lieux Paris 1992 p 18ffExternal links Edit Biography portal French Wikisource has original text related to this article Auteur Benjamin Peret French Wikiquote has quotations related to Benjamin Peret Benjamin Peret at Find a Grave A Menagerie in Revolt Selected Writings of Benjamin Peret Publisher website Archived 28 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Benjamin Peret amp oldid 1143424506, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
