André Breton is the big Daddy of Surrealism. We can't talk about the movement without talking about him because he is the writer who officially got the movement going. It would be like talking about Marxism without mentioning good ol' Karl M. himself.

In 1924, Breton published The First Manifesto of Surrealism. This document lay down the law for the movement: it defined the goals of Surrealism as well as the techniques of Surrealist literature (like automatic writing). It became the Bible of the movement.

Not only that, but as the boss man of Surrealism, Breton had a lot of power in terms of deciding which writers belonged to the movement and which didn't. He was notorious for kicking people who disagreed with him, or with the principles of Surrealism, out of the group. Spare the rod and spoil the… Surrealist movement? That's not very nice, Andre.

The Magnetic Fields (with Phillipe Soupault) (1920)

This is often considered to be the first work of Surrealism. It's a novel that was composed by Breton and Soupault using automatic writing technique (in only ten days!). As a result, it isn't the most "sensical" text. When we read it, we'll find ourselves lost in time and space, and we'll be swept along in a current of striking imagery.

This text breaks all of the literary rules. There's no plot, no clear characters, no clear action, and the setting is constantly shifting and changing. In other words, it's a great example of Surrealist literature.

"Free Union" (1931)

This poem exemplifies Breton's literary style. It's a poem about his wife. In it we'll find a whole bunch of incredible associations that are triggered by parts of his wife's body.

It also reflects automatic writing because the associations that Breton makes in the poem are free-flowing and often far-fetched, which suggests that the poem was written in one go. It's one of Breton's most important, and most famous, poems.

Chew On This

André Breton's poetry presents some startling juxtapositions. Check out the juxtaposition of imagery in his poem "Free Union."

Breton was a champion of automatic writing. We can see his automatic writing in action in the poem "No Proof."