author
André Breton
1896–1966
A driving force behind Surrealism, he helped turn dreams, chance, and the unconscious into a new kind of literature. His work ranges from manifestos that shaped an avant-garde movement to strange, haunting books like Nadja and Mad Love.
1 Audiobook
Clair de terre
by André Breton
About the author
Born in Tinchebray, France, in 1896, André Breton became a poet, novelist, critic, and one of the central founders of Surrealism. He studied medicine and worked in neurological wards during World War I, experiences that sharpened his interest in the mind, dreams, and irrational thought.
In the 1920s he emerged as the movement's chief theorist, publishing the first Surrealist Manifesto in 1924 and promoting techniques such as automatic writing. Breton wanted literature and art to break free from ordinary logic and reach deeper truths through surprise, desire, and the unconscious.
He also wrote some of Surrealism's most memorable books, especially Nadja and Mad Love, which blend memoir, fiction, and meditation in a distinctive, searching voice. Breton remained a powerful and sometimes controversial figure in modern literature until his death in Paris in 1966.