René Crevel
Encyclopedia
René Crevel was a French
writer
involved with the surrealist
movement
.
to a family of Parisian
bourgeoisie
. He had a traumatic religious upbringing. At the age of fourteen, during a difficult stage of his life, his father committed suicide by hanging himself. Crevel studied English
at the University of Paris
. He met André Breton
and joined the surrealist movement in 1921, from which he would be excluded in October 1923 due to Crevel's homosexuality
and Breton's belief that the movement had been corrupted.
During this period, Crevel wrote novels such as Mon corps et moi ("My Body and Me"). In 1926, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis
which made him start using morphine
. The 1929 exile of Léon Trotsky
persuaded him to rejoin the surrealists. Remaining faithful to André Breton, he struggled to bring communists
and surrealists closer together. Much of Crevel's work deals with his inner turmoil at being bisexual.
Crevel killed himself by turning on the gas
on his kitchen stove the night of 18 June 1935, several weeks before his 35th birthday. There were at least two direct reasons: (1) There was a conflict between Breton and Ilya Ehrenburg
during the first "International Congress of Writers for the Defense of Culture" which opened in Paris in June 1935. Breton, who like all fellow surrealists, had been insulted by Ehrenburg in a pamphlet which said – among other things – that surrealists were pederasts, slapped Ehrenburg several times on the street, which led to surrealists being expelled from the Congress. Crevel, who according to Salvador Dalí
, was "the only serious communist among surrealists" (and was facing more and more solitude as the real face of Soviet socialism started to occur ), spent a whole day trying to persuade the other delegates to allow surrealists back, but he was not successful and left the Congress at 11pm, totally exhausted. (2) Crevel reportedly had learned that he suffered from renal tuberculosis
right upon leaving the Congress (Claude Courtot, in ). He left a note which read "Please cremate my body. Loathing."
It should be remembered that when André Breton included the question "Suicide: Is It a Solution?" in the first issue of La Révolution surréaliste
in 1925, Crevel was one of those who answered "Yes". He wrote "It is most probably the most correct and most ultimate solution."
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
involved with the surrealist
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
movement
Art movement
An art movement is a tendency or style in art with a specific common philosophy or goal, followed by a group of artists during a restricted period of time, or, at least, with the heyday of the movement defined within a number of years...
.
Life
Crevel was born in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to a family of Parisian
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
. He had a traumatic religious upbringing. At the age of fourteen, during a difficult stage of his life, his father committed suicide by hanging himself. Crevel studied English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
. He met André Breton
André Breton
André Breton was a French writer and poet. He is known best as the founder of Surrealism. His writings include the first Surrealist Manifesto of 1924, in which he defined surrealism as "pure psychic automatism"....
and joined the surrealist movement in 1921, from which he would be excluded in October 1923 due to Crevel's homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and Breton's belief that the movement had been corrupted.
During this period, Crevel wrote novels such as Mon corps et moi ("My Body and Me"). In 1926, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
which made him start using morphine
Morphine
Morphine is a potent opiate analgesic medication and is considered to be the prototypical opioid. It was first isolated in 1804 by Friedrich Sertürner, first distributed by same in 1817, and first commercially sold by Merck in 1827, which at the time was a single small chemists' shop. It was more...
. The 1929 exile of Léon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
persuaded him to rejoin the surrealists. Remaining faithful to André Breton, he struggled to bring communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and surrealists closer together. Much of Crevel's work deals with his inner turmoil at being bisexual.
Crevel killed himself by turning on the gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
on his kitchen stove the night of 18 June 1935, several weeks before his 35th birthday. There were at least two direct reasons: (1) There was a conflict between Breton and Ilya Ehrenburg
Ilya Ehrenburg
Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg was a Soviet writer, journalist, translator, and cultural figure.Ehrenburg is among the most prolific and notable authors of the Soviet Union; he published around one hundred titles. He became known first and foremost as a novelist and a journalist - in particular, as a...
during the first "International Congress of Writers for the Defense of Culture" which opened in Paris in June 1935. Breton, who like all fellow surrealists, had been insulted by Ehrenburg in a pamphlet which said – among other things – that surrealists were pederasts, slapped Ehrenburg several times on the street, which led to surrealists being expelled from the Congress. Crevel, who according to Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí
Salvador Domènec Felip Jacint Dalí i Domènech, Marquis de Púbol , commonly known as Salvador Dalí , was a prominent Spanish Catalan surrealist painter born in Figueres,Spain....
, was "the only serious communist among surrealists" (and was facing more and more solitude as the real face of Soviet socialism started to occur ), spent a whole day trying to persuade the other delegates to allow surrealists back, but he was not successful and left the Congress at 11pm, totally exhausted. (2) Crevel reportedly had learned that he suffered from renal tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
right upon leaving the Congress (Claude Courtot, in ). He left a note which read "Please cremate my body. Loathing."
It should be remembered that when André Breton included the question "Suicide: Is It a Solution?" in the first issue of La Révolution surréaliste
La Révolution surréaliste
La Révolution surréaliste was a publication by the Surrealists in Paris. Twelve issues were published between 1924 and 1929....
in 1925, Crevel was one of those who answered "Yes". He wrote "It is most probably the most correct and most ultimate solution."
Original French
- Détours (1924)
- Mon Corps et moi (1925)
- La Mort difficile (1926)
- Babylone (1927)
- L'Esprit contre la raison (1928)
- Êtes-vous fous? (1929)
- Le Clavecin de Diderot (1932)
- Les Pieds dans le plat (1933)
- Le Roman cassé et derniers écrits (1934–1935)
English translations
- My body and I (translations of Mon Corps et Moi; Archipelago BooksArchipelago BooksArchipelago Books is an American not-for-profit literary publisher dedicated to promoting cross-cultural exchange through international literature in translation. Located Brooklyn, New York, it publishes small to mid-size runs of international fiction, poetry, and literary essays...
, 2005) - Babylon (translation of Babylone; Sun and Moon Press, 1996)
- Putting My Foot in It (translation of Les Pieds dans le plat; Dalkey Archive Press, 1994)
- Difficult Death (translation of La Mort difficile; Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986)
External links
- Putting My Foot in It. Official site for this translation.
- René Crevel, Freud de l’Alchimiste à l’Hygiéniste, Revue Le Disque Vert, 2e année, 3e Série, n°1, 1924.
- René Crevel, Notes en vue d’une psycho-dialectique, Revue Le Surréalisme Au Service De La Révolution, n° 5, mai 1933.
- Photo