''The Automatic Message'' (1933) (''Le Message Automatique'') was one of

André Breton André Robert Breton (; 19 February 1896 – 28 September 1966) was a French writer and poet, the co-founder, leader, and principal theorist of surrealism. His writings include the first ''Surrealist Manifesto'' (''Manifeste du surréalisme'') o ...

's significant theoretical works about automatism. The essay was first published in the magazine ''

Minotaure ''Minotaure'' was a Surrealist-oriented magazine founded by Albert Skira and E. Tériade in Paris and published between 1933 and 1939. ''Minotaure'' published on the plastic arts, poetry, and literature, avant garde, as well as articles on esoter ...

'', No. 3-4, (Paris) 1933. In 1997 it became the title of a compilation of surrealist writing of

, Paul Éluard and Philippe Soupault, amongst others. The book includes two vital “automatic” texts of surrealism. Breton's prefatory essay ''The Automatic Message'' relates the technique to the underlying concepts and aesthetic of surrealism. '' The Magnetic Fields (Les Champs Magnétiques)'' (1919) by Breton and Soupault, was the first work of literary surrealism and one of the foundations of modern European thought and writing. ''The Automatic Message'' contains the authorised translation by the poet

David Gascoyne David Gascoyne (10 October 1916 – 25 November 2001) was an English poet associated with the Surrealist movement, in particular the British Surrealist Group. Additionally he translated work by French surrealist poets. Early life and surrealis ...

, himself a member of the group, and a friend of both authors. ''The Immaculate Conception'' (1930) traces the interior and exterior life of man from ''Conception'' and ''Intra-Uterine Life'' to ''Death and The Original Judgement'', and includes a section with a series of “simulations” of various types of mental instability.

Literature

André Breton, ''The Automatic Message''. In: ''The Message. Art and Occultism''. Ed. by Claudia Dichter, Hans Günter Golinski, Michael Krajewski, Zander. Walther König: Cologne 2007, p. 33-55, . (singular illustrated translation of Breton's Essay) 1997 non-fiction books Works about surrealism Art history books Works by André Breton Works originally published in French magazines 1933 essays {{art-book-stub