In 1922 Rene Crevel told his friend and mentor Andre Breton about a visit he had made to a Spiritualist seance. It was the time of the mouvementflou, the increasingly nihilistic Dada had negated itself out of existence and Surrealism was yet to come into being. Breton was intrigued and arranged an event with his friends. The results were startling; and this was the beginning of the Period of the Sleeping Fits. Crevel and Robert Desnos were particularly susceptible to falling into the trance state and answering questions that was put to them by the group, sometimes with unnerving effect. Each day they would spend longer in a trance, Desnos even had the ability to write while asleep. Both Crevel and Desnos began to rapidly lose weight and Desnos became convinced that he was possessed by Rrose Selavy, Marcel Duchamp’s female alter ego, even though he had never met Duchamp. Events began to spiral out of control and the experiment with trance states was abandoned completely when Crevel led a group suicide attempt.
Desnos loved to sleep (most photographs show him asleep) and his poetry vividly evokes that universal yet nebulous state Below is his 1926 poem SleepSpaces, translation by Mary Ann Caws.
Sleep Spaces
In the night there are naturally the seven marvels of the world and greatness and the tragic and enchantment.
Confusedly, forests mingle with legendary creatures hidden in the thickets.
You are there.
In the night there is the nightwalker’s step and the murderer’s and the policeman’s and the streetlight and the ragman’s lantern.
You are there.
In the night pass trains and ships and the mirage of countries where it is daylight. The last breaths of twilight and the first shivers of dawn.
You are there.
A tune on the piano, a cry.
A door slams,
A clock.
And not just beings and things and material noises.
But still myself chasing myself or going on beyond.
You are there, immolated one, you for whom I wait.
Sometimes strange figures are born at the instant of sleep and disappear.
When I close my eyes, phosphorescent blooms appear and fade and are reborn like carnal fireworks.
Unknown countries I traverse with creatures for company.
You are there most probably, oh beautiful discreet spy.
And the palpable soul of the reaches.
And the perfumes of the sky and the stars and the cock’s crow from two thousand years ago and the peacock’s scream in the parks aflame and kisses.
Handshakes sinister in a sickly light and axles screeching on hypnotic roads.
You are most probably there, whom I do not know, whom on the contrary I know.
But who, present in my dreams, insist on being sensed there without appearing.
You who remain out of reach in reality and in dream.
You who belong to me by my will to possess you in illusion but whose face approaches mine if my eyes are closed to dream as well as to reality.
You in spite of an easy rhetoric where the waves die on the beaches, where the crow flies in ruined factories, where wood rots cracking under a leaden sky.
You who are at the depths of my dreams, arousing my mind full of metamorphoses and leaving me your glove when I kiss your hand.
In the night there are stars and the tenebral motion of the sea, rivers, forests, towns, grass, the lungs of millions and millions of being.
In the night there are the marvels of the world.
In the night there are no guardian angels but there is sleep.
In the night you are there.
In the day also.
This is so wonderful I don’t even know where to begin. Wow, I love this so much. The patterns at the contrasts, the ‘you’ always there. And the beginning with seven wonders and the concluding with them too. Oh, there’s so much…
Yes, very informative. That’s crazy about the group suicide. And the amount of time spent in trance. How does one get anything done? Believe me, Cake I wish I could write something this beautiful, too. Although I think your style comes close. I am really in love with this.
I’m not discounting it completely. Do you think he might have been putting it on just a little? Although people have been known to get up prepare elaborate meals all while asleep so I suppose it’s possible.
Mr. Cake, a brilliant post, you could become a serial napper, producing otherworldly poetry! The poem by Desnos is magnificent, so out of body. I like having the thought, “You are there.” All of the men mentioned in this post are extremely interesting, let me not forget Rrose Sélavy. Wonderful photo by Man Ray, always terrific. Very creative, I hope you are able to reproduce the experience, write while you’re asleep. ~ Miss Cranes
Thank you it is a magnificent poem and the whole period of the sleeping fits is interesting and bizarre. Let’s not forget Rrose Selavy either. I will do a post about Rene Crevel at some point, but his story is extremely distressing to me. Rest assured I will certainly try to write while 😴.
Yes that would be a good idea. Man Ray also helped in the creation of Rrose. The whole sleeping fits is very eerie, definitely a suggestion of the supernatural. Or is it all in the mind?
Yes, the photos are brilliant, you could feature both of them together if you desire. I think the term, “sleeping fits” in itself is a little disturbing, and yes, eerie too. It does point in the direction of the supernatural to be sure, and yes, it is in the mind so to speak.
Thank you Miss Cranes, I will give some thought on Rrose Selavy. I am surprised that I hadn’t done a post on the sleeping fits before, definitely interesting.
Wonderful post! A precious memory comes along, of being introduced to R. Desnos´work, back then, as student in Paris… “J’ai tant rêvé de toi” was my favourite…
So much information. I never trusted those gangs and groups. Guess I’ll always be a loner! I am really enjoying these adventures into the world of the Surrealists. Thank you so much.
This is a particular crazy Surrealist adventure, however this is the birth of the New Spirit that Andre Breton said would be funny if it was loose in the world. And it was let loose. I know the Surrealists fall in and out of fashion, but they had an undeniable impact on the world.
I love Octavio Paz’s poetry. It has a similar rich deep vein of unbridled sensuality. I guess it happens when we tap something deep within ourselves, something related to Jung’s archetypes that then rove round the world on their own, without an owner and without a name.
The secret is to manipulate that archetypal landscape … that’s what Paz did. He refused the “losing himself” bit and really exploited the beauty of the discoveries. I think García Lorca did the same thing. I think of it as deeply rooted imagery produced on the banks of a deep underground river. It’s most certainly what I try to do. I know I don’t always succeed. I also know that the efforts are not always appreciated by the wise men of the creative writing schools. Monkey has a message for them. As does a certain eyeball and a certain razor blade.
Excuse my French but fuck the creative writing wise men. There is more than one way to write. You should read Bolano, he breaks every single rule in the creative writing handbook and yet he his almost 900 page literary work was lauded by the critics and was a choice on Oprah’s book club, in translation and as dark as it comes. Heavily influenced by the surrealists of course.
Love your French: and it’s exactly what I feel about them. Cervantes wasn’t exactly a literary success ether and Lord knows he wrote a lot prior to the Quixote. When the FrenchAmbassador came to Madrid and asked to meet Cervantes he was told that there were several decent authors around, like Lope de Vega, and Cervantes wasn’t worth bothering with!
I went to a couple and was told not to put dreams in a story, also that all sentences should be short, never use long words, and everything should be grounded in a recognisable social reality. That discounts most of world literature.
I know what you mean. Alas, I have attended many and run a few myself. The ones I run are NOT like the ones I attend. I have added another French word to my vocabulary: ouanquères … I use it for many literary critics.
I give up. You’ve stolen the hair from my brush with your language it’s making the hair on my neck stand up. It’s phantasmagoric and drug like I adore it
This is so wonderful I don’t even know where to begin. Wow, I love this so much. The patterns at the contrasts, the ‘you’ always there. And the beginning with seven wonders and the concluding with them too. Oh, there’s so much…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, do you like the introduction as well. It is a beautiful poem, I wish I could write something half as beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, very informative. That’s crazy about the group suicide. And the amount of time spent in trance. How does one get anything done? Believe me, Cake I wish I could write something this beautiful, too. Although I think your style comes close. I am really in love with this.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, don’t forget he would write in his sleep
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, hmm. How about that…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can sense your cynicism…he sleep talked and sleep walked do why not sleep write?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m not discounting it completely. Do you think he might have been putting it on just a little? Although people have been known to get up prepare elaborate meals all while asleep so I suppose it’s possible.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Several people saw him writing while asleep. I am going to try it myself, that would mean I could take more naps!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I cannot wait to read the results of this experiment. Do you sleep walk or otherwise?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I did as a child
LikeLiked by 1 person
Funny, I did as well. Came back briefly in my late teens/early twenties but I blame university for that… not the higher learning part either
LikeLiked by 1 person
Rational dislocation of the senses
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s very disconcerting to onlookers. My college roommate used to get very spooked by it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I bet, my parents were spooked as well.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some people would say I am pretty much sleep walking through life.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh what do some people know?
LikeLiked by 1 person
They would have a point…maybe one day I will wake up
LikeLiked by 1 person
You might not like what you find upon waking…
LikeLike
Mr. Cake, a brilliant post, you could become a serial napper, producing otherworldly poetry! The poem by Desnos is magnificent, so out of body. I like having the thought, “You are there.” All of the men mentioned in this post are extremely interesting, let me not forget Rrose Sélavy. Wonderful photo by Man Ray, always terrific. Very creative, I hope you are able to reproduce the experience, write while you’re asleep. ~ Miss Cranes
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you it is a magnificent poem and the whole period of the sleeping fits is interesting and bizarre. Let’s not forget Rrose Selavy either. I will do a post about Rene Crevel at some point, but his story is extremely distressing to me. Rest assured I will certainly try to write while 😴.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome Mr. Cake, perfect post to play off the idea that you nap and create wonderful poetry. What about a post on Rrose Sélavy?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes that would be a good idea. Man Ray also helped in the creation of Rrose. The whole sleeping fits is very eerie, definitely a suggestion of the supernatural. Or is it all in the mind?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, the photos are brilliant, you could feature both of them together if you desire. I think the term, “sleeping fits” in itself is a little disturbing, and yes, eerie too. It does point in the direction of the supernatural to be sure, and yes, it is in the mind so to speak.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Miss Cranes, I will give some thought on Rrose Selavy. I am surprised that I hadn’t done a post on the sleeping fits before, definitely interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. Sleep is interesting, and the ideas/images/thoughts that we bring back with us to our wakeful lives is also interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very much so, that alternative reality we fall into every night.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Isn’t it great?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Indeed I love sleep
LikeLiked by 1 person
Zzzzzzzzzz…
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know I’m boring but you don’t have to make it so obvious
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hahahaha! You Mr. Cake, are hardly boring or a boor!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Miss Cranes I do drone on a bit
LikeLike
Wonderful post! A precious memory comes along, of being introduced to R. Desnos´work, back then, as student in Paris… “J’ai tant rêvé de toi” was my favourite…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, there is a link on the post to my previous post on J’ai tant reve de toi
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks too, for the hint, it´s always so fascinating to rediscover an old poem in another language! Thank you indeed for such posts…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you for your kind comments and I am glad you enjoy.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So much information. I never trusted those gangs and groups. Guess I’ll always be a loner! I am really enjoying these adventures into the world of the Surrealists. Thank you so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is a particular crazy Surrealist adventure, however this is the birth of the New Spirit that Andre Breton said would be funny if it was loose in the world. And it was let loose. I know the Surrealists fall in and out of fashion, but they had an undeniable impact on the world.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Octavio Paz’s poetry. It has a similar rich deep vein of unbridled sensuality. I guess it happens when we tap something deep within ourselves, something related to Jung’s archetypes that then rove round the world on their own, without an owner and without a name.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That archetypal landscape, I think I am lost in that maze for good or for ill.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The secret is to manipulate that archetypal landscape … that’s what Paz did. He refused the “losing himself” bit and really exploited the beauty of the discoveries. I think García Lorca did the same thing. I think of it as deeply rooted imagery produced on the banks of a deep underground river. It’s most certainly what I try to do. I know I don’t always succeed. I also know that the efforts are not always appreciated by the wise men of the creative writing schools. Monkey has a message for them. As does a certain eyeball and a certain razor blade.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excuse my French but fuck the creative writing wise men. There is more than one way to write. You should read Bolano, he breaks every single rule in the creative writing handbook and yet he his almost 900 page literary work was lauded by the critics and was a choice on Oprah’s book club, in translation and as dark as it comes. Heavily influenced by the surrealists of course.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Love your French: and it’s exactly what I feel about them. Cervantes wasn’t exactly a literary success ether and Lord knows he wrote a lot prior to the Quixote. When the FrenchAmbassador came to Madrid and asked to meet Cervantes he was told that there were several decent authors around, like Lope de Vega, and Cervantes wasn’t worth bothering with!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I went to a couple and was told not to put dreams in a story, also that all sentences should be short, never use long words, and everything should be grounded in a recognisable social reality. That discounts most of world literature.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know what you mean. Alas, I have attended many and run a few myself. The ones I run are NOT like the ones I attend. I have added another French word to my vocabulary: ouanquères … I use it for many literary critics.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I give up. You’ve stolen the hair from my brush with your language it’s making the hair on my neck stand up. It’s phantasmagoric and drug like I adore it
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well this is Desnos so I can’t claim the credit on this one. Thanks though
LikeLiked by 1 person
Writing while sleeping? I can’t imagine what I would write while asleep – I’m not sure I’d want to read it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah but it would be very revealing don’t you think?
LikeLike
Reblogged this on lampmagician.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you as always.
LikeLiked by 1 person
And as always, the same 🙏😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reblogged this on Three Rivers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you kindly
LikeLike
This is such an interesting and fertile period in the history of art. Thank you for the post.
LikeLiked by 1 person
My pleasure glad you enjoyed. It was a remarkably fertile period in art and one of my favourite periods to write about.
LikeLiked by 1 person