Fernando Arrabal Terán (born August 11, 1932) is a Spanish playwright, screenwriter, film director, novelist, and poet. He was born in Melilla and settled in France in 1955. Regarding his nationality, Arrabal describes himself as "desterrado", or "half-

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...

, half- exiled". Arrabal has directed seven full-length feature films and has published over 100 plays; 14 novels; 800 poetry collections, chapbooks, and artists' books; several essays; and his notorious "Letter to

General Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

" during the dictator's lifetime. His complete plays have been published, in multiple languages, in a two-volume edition totaling over two thousand pages. ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' theatre critic

Mel Gussow Melvyn Hayes "Mel" Gussow (; December 19, 1933 – April 29, 2005) was an American theater critic, movie critic, and author who wrote for ''The New York Times'' for 35 years. Biography Gussow was born in New York City and grew up in Rockville ...

has called Arrabal the last survivor among the "three avatars of

modernism Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

". In 1962, Arrabal co-founded the Panic Movement with

Alejandro Jodorowsky Alejandro Jodorowsky Prullansky (; born 17 February 1929) is a Chilean-French avant-garde filmmaker. Best known for his 1970s films ''El Topo'' and '' The Holy Mountain'', Jodorowsky has been "venerated by cult cinema enthusiasts" for his work ...

and Roland Topor, inspired by the god Pan. He was elected Transcendent Satrap of the Collège de Pataphysique in 1990. Forty other Transcendent Satraps have been elected over the past half-century, including

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

, Eugène Ionesco,

Man Ray Man Ray (born Emmanuel Radnitzky; August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976) was an American visual artist who spent most of his career in Paris. He was a significant contributor to the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to eac ...

Boris Vian Boris Vian (; 10 March 1920 – 23 June 1959) was a French polymath: writer, poet, musician, singer, translator, critic, actor, inventor and engineer who is primarily remembered for his novels. Those published under the pseudonym Vernon Sull ...

Dario Fo Dario Luigi Angelo Fo (; 24 March 1926 – 13 October 2016) was an Italian playwright, actor, theatre director, stage designer, songwriter, political campaigner for the Italian left wing and the recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature. ...

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of th ...

, and

Jean Baudrillard Jean Baudrillard ( , , ; 27 July 1929 – 6 March 2007) was a French sociologist, philosopher and poet with interest in cultural studies. He is best known for his analyses of media, contemporary culture, and technological communication, as ...

. Arrabal spent three years as a member of André Breton's surrealist group and was a friend of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

and

Tristan Tzara Tristan Tzara (; ; born Samuel or Samy Rosenstock, also known as S. Samyro; – 25 December 1963) was a Romanian and French avant-garde poet, essayist and performance artist. Also active as a journalist, playwright, literary and art critic, comp ...

. Writer and critic Javier Villan wrote of Arrabal:

Childhood (1932–1946)

Arrabal (Terán is his second family name) was born to Carmen Terán González and painter Fernando Arrabal Ruiz. On July 17, 1936, when insurrections within the military were staged against the constitutional government of the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...

, launching the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

, Arrabal's father remained faithful to the Republic and was sentenced to death for mutiny. His sentence was later commuted to 30 years’ imprisonment. He was transferred between prisons, from Santi Espiritu in Melilla to Monte Hacho in

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ar, سَبْتَة, Sabtah) is a Spanish autonomous city on the north coast of Africa. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. It is one of several Spanish territorie ...

, where he attempted suicide, as well as

Ciudad Rodrigo Ciudad Rodrigo () is a small cathedral city in the province of Salamanca, in western Spain, with a population in 2016 of 12,896. It is also the seat of a judicial district. The site of Ciudad Rodrigo, perched atop a rocky rise on the right ban ...

and

Burgos Burgos () is a city in Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is the capital and most populated municipality of the province of Burgos. Burgos is situated in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, on the confluence of ...

. On December 4, 1941, he was sent to the Burgos Hospital due to apparent

mental disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

. Later research has found that he likely feigned mental order in order to be transferred to a lower security prison. On December 29, 1941, he escaped from the hospital in his pajamas, despite three feet of snow covering the countryside. Despite extensive research, he was never seen again. About his father, Arrabal has written: “Without trying to compare what is incomparable, when I confront these twilight episodes (and quite often without any logical connection), I often think of that scapegoat, my father. The day on which the Uncivil War began, he was locked up by his 'compassionate companions' in the flag room of the Melilla military barracks. He was meant to think carefully, since he risked a death sentence for mutiny if he did not join them in their insurrection (alzamiento). After an hour, Lieutenant Fernando Arrabal summoned his ex-comrades – already! – to inform them that he had pondered long enough. Today, because of this precedent, must I serve as witness, example, or symbol, as he did, of the most fundamental occurrences? I, who am a mere exile. If I am taken away from my beloved numerics, everything around me leads to over-the-counter confusion and disorder. I have no wish to be a scapegoat like my father, I only ask to die while still living, whenever Pan so wishes.” In 1936, Arrabal's mother returned to Ciudad Rodrigo with her young son, Fernando, and found a job at Burgos, then-capitol of the

Nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

and headquarters of General Franco's government. Fernando was enrolled in a local

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

school from 1937 until 1940, when the Civil War ended and he moved with his mother to

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. Arrabal was awarded the national prize for gifted children in 1941. He continued his studies at Las Escuelas Pías de San Antón, a church school whose

alumni Alumni (singular: alumnus (masculine) or alumna (feminine)) are former students of a school, college, or university who have either attended or graduated in some fashion from the institution. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for grou ...

have also included

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

and Jacinto Benavente y Martínez. Arrabal later studied at another distinguished Madrid school, Colegio Padres Escolapios De Getafe. He was an avid reader and was eager to experience life.

Youth and young adulthood (1946–1956)

In 1947, when his mother ordered him to attend preparatory classes for entrance to the

Academia General Militar The General Military Academy (in Spanish: Academia General Militar) is a higher training center of the Spanish Army, responsible for the initial training for officers of the Arms and Corps of the Army, and for the officers of the Civil Guard. It ...

, Arrabal protested by playing hooky. She subsequently sent him to Tolosa (

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

), where he studied business at the Escuela Teórico-Práctica de la Industria y el Comercio del Papel, in 1949. By 1950, he had begun writing several plays, which remain unpublished. In 1951, Arrabal began working in the

paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web a ...

at La Papelera Española. He moved to

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

and passed his

bachillerato The Spanish Baccalaureate ( es, Bachillerato) is the post-16 stage of education in Spain, comparable to the A Levels/Higher (Scottish) in the UK, the French Baccalaureate in France or the International Baccalaureate. It follows the ESO (compulso ...

, the first non-compulsory educational option in Spain for admission to university. He later moved to Madrid and began

legal studies Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning ...

. During these years, he frequented the cultural institution Ateneo de Madrid and heard poets from the Postismo school. He was also finishing his early play ''Picnic,'' then titled ''The Soldiers'', and writing ''El triciclo'', at first titled ''Men with a Tricycle''. In 1954, Arrabal hitchhiked to Paris to attend a performance of Bertolt Brecht’s ''

Mother Courage and Her Children ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' (german: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder, links=no) is a play written in 1939 by the German dramatist and poet Bertolt Brecht (1898–1956), with significant contributions from Margarete Steffin. Four theatrica ...

'' given by the touring

Berliner Ensemble The Berliner Ensemble () is a German theatre company established by actress Helene Weigel and her husband, playwright Bertolt Brecht, in January 1949 in East Berlin. In the time after Brecht's exile, the company first worked at Wolfgang Langho ...

. Later that year, in Madrid, he met Luce Moreau, who became his wife. In 1955, he was awarded a three-month scholarship to study in Paris, during which time he lived at the Colegio de España at the Cité Universitaire. While in Paris he suffered a serious relapse of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, i ...

. He considered this disease to be a "lucky mishap" that allowed him to move permanently to his "veritable homeland, that of Kundera and Vives,

Saint Ignatius of Loyola Ignatius of Loyola, S.J. (born Íñigo López de Oñaz y Loyola; eu, Ignazio Loiolakoa; es, Ignacio de Loyola; la, Ignatius de Loyola; – 31 July 1556), venerated as Saint Ignatius of Loyola, was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian, ...

and Picasso: exile." In 1976 he appeared in

Rosa von Praunheim Holger Bernhard Bruno Mischwitzky (born Holger Radtke; 25 November 1942), known professionally as Rosa von Praunheim, is a German film director, author, painter and one of the most famous gay rights activists in the German-speaking world. In ov ...

's New York film '' Underground and Emigrants''.

Politics

Arrabal had been known for being anti-

Francoist Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...

and anti-monarchist and interested in anarchist trends in cultural production.Javier Villán, ''El Mundo'' May 18, 2010
Lo de Arrabal es algo muy serio
Arrabal had a complicated relationship with Communism. He had ties with the

Communist Party of Spain The Communist Party of Spain ( es, Partido Comunista de España; PCE) is a Marxist-Leninist party that, since 1986, has been part of the United Left coalition, which is part of Unidas Podemos. It currently has two of its politicians serving a ...

during his exile, but a rupture seems to have occurred in 1977 due to a conflict with his play '' The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria'' being performed in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

with artists reputed to have Communist Party ties.

Awards and recognition

Arrabal was among the more controversial writers of his time, and his work has been recognized internationally. Awards include the Grand Prize for Theatre of the Académie Française, the Premio Mariano de Cavia for journalism, the Nabokov Prize for novels, the Espasa Prize for essays, and the World Theater Prize. In 2001, he was nominated for the Premio Cervantes by Nobel Prize in Literature winner Camilo José Cela and José Hierro. He was reportedly a finalist for the Nobel Prize in 2005 due to the solicitation of several institutions and individuals. On July 14, 2005, he was named to France's

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. In 2007, he was awarded a doctorate of letters Honoris Causa by the

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Aristotle (; grc-gre, Ἀριστοτέλης ''Aristotélēs'', ; 384–322 BC) was a Greek philosopher and polymath during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. Taught by Plato, he was the founder of the Peripatetic school of phil ...

in Greece. His other awards and recognition include: *2019: Grand Cross of the

Civil Order of Alfonso X, the Wise The Civil Order of Alfonso X the Wise ( es, Orden Civil de Alfonso X el Sabio) is a Spanish civil order established in 1939, recognising activities in the fields of education, science, culture, higher education and research. The order was create ...

, March 1, 2019 *2010: Premier Prix International Théâtre du Millénaire *2008: **Hijo adoptivo de Ciudad Rodrigo (Spain) **Ciudadano de honor, Erlanger (Germany) ** Fronteira do Pensamento with Bob Wilson, Wim Wenders, Philip Glass, and Bernard Henri Levy (

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...

, Brazil) *2007: **Prix Spinoza (Festival Teranova) **Doctorate of letters Honoris Causa (Thessaloniki, Greece) **Max de Honor, Teatro (Spain) **Prix Pasolini, cinéma (París) *2006: **Gran Prix d’Interprétation (Festival de Quend, film: ''Avida'') **Citoyen d’honneur de Spa (Belgium) **Clés de la ville de Fontenay (France) *2005: **

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, July 14, 2005 ** Checa Association of Film Directors Prize, René Char Gold Medal, Avignon Festival * 2004 ** First Panic Award, International Book Fair (

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

) ** Francisco de Vitoria Prize (Puerto Rico) **Wittgenstein Prize (

University of Murcia The University of Murcia ( es, Universidad de Murcia) is the main university in Murcia, Spain. With 38,000 students, it is the largest university in the Región de Murcia. The University of Murcia is the third oldest university in Spain, after t ...

, Spain) *2003 ** National Prize for Literature (Spain) ** Gold Medal of San Fando (Buenos Aires) * 2002: Gold Medal of the City of Avignon * 2001: Premio Nacional de Teatro (Spain) * 2000: National Prize for Literature (Spain) *1999: Alessandro Manzoni Poetry Prize (Italy) * 1998: Prize of the Society of Authors (France) * 1995: Officer of Arts and Letters (France) * 1993: Theatre Prize of the Académie française * 1990: elected to honorary title of Transcendent Satrape of the Collège de ’Pataphysique; group founded in 1948 in homage to French author Alfred Jarry, has named previous Transcendent Satrapes including: Camilo José Cela,

René Clair René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He wen ...

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French painter and sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what he believed to be a ...

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...

, M. C. Escher, Eugène Ionesco, Michel Leiris,

The Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...

, Joan Miró,

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist moveme ...

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau w ...

, and

; after Arrabal received this title, other Transcendent Satrapes have been named, including: Roland Topor,

, and

* 1986: Fine Arts Gold Medal of the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

(Spain) * 1983: Chevalier of Arts and Letters (France) * 1982: Nadal Prize for ''La torre herida por el rayo'' * 1976: Obie Award for Theater (New York) * 1965 Lugné-Poë Theatre Prize (France) * 1959:

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

Award with

Italo Calvino Italo Calvino (, also , ;. RAI (circa 1970), retrieved 25 October 2012. 15 October 1923 – 19 September 1985) was an Italian writer and journalist. His best known works include the '' Our Ancestors'' trilogy (1952–1959), the ''Cosmicomi ...

Hugo Claus Hugo Maurice Julien Claus (; 5 April 1929 – 19 March 2008) was a leading Belgian literature, Belgian author who published under his own name as well as various pseudonyms. Claus' literary contributions spanned the genres of drama, the novel, a ...

Charles Tomlinson Alfred Charles Tomlinson, CBE (8 January 1927 – 22 August 2015) was an English poet, translator, academic, and illustrator. He was born in Penkhull, and grew up in Basford, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire. Life After attending Longton High Sc ...

, Günter Grass, and Robert Pinget (New York)

Selected works

Feature-length films

Arrabal has written and directed seven feature-length films, and has been awarded the Premio Pier Paolo Pasolini for his contributions to cinema. * 1971: '' Viva la muerte''; co-produced by Isabel-Films (Paris) and S.A.T.P.E.C. (Tunis); starring Nuria Espert, Ivan Henriques, and Anouk Ferjac * 1973: '' J'irai comme un cheval fou''; produced by Société Générale de Production – Babylone Films; starring

Emmanuelle Riva Emmanuelle Riva (; 24 February 1927 – 27 January 2017) was a French actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Hiroshima mon amour'' (1959) and '' Amour'' (2012). Riva was nominated for a BAFTA Award for her role in ''Hiroshima mon ...

, Hachemi Marzouk, and George Shannon * 1975: ''L'arbre de Guernica''; produced by C.V.C. Communication, Federico Mueller, and Harry N. Blum; starring

Mariangela Melato Mariangela Melato (19 September 1941 – 11 January 2013) was an Italian cinema and theater actress. She began her stage career in the 1960s. Her first film role was in ''Thomas e gli indemoniati'' (1969), directed by Pupi Avati. She played in m ...

and Ron Faber * 1982: ''The Emperor of Peru'' (also released as ''Odyssey of the Pacific'' and ''Treasure Train''); produced by Babylone Films; starring Mickey Rooney and Monique Leclerc * 1983: ''Le cimetière des voitures''; television film; co-produced by Antenne 2 and Babylone Films; starring

Alain Bashung Alain Bashung (, born Alain Claude Baschung; 1 December 1947 – 14 March 2009) was a French singer, songwriter and actor. Credited with reviving the French chanson in "a time of French musical turmoil", he is often regarded in his home country a ...

and Juliette Berto * 1992: ''Adieu, Babylone!''; produced by Antenne 2 – Cinecim; starring Lélia Fischer and

Spike Lee Shelton Jackson "Spike" Lee (born March 20, 1957) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. His production company, 40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks, has produced more than 35 films since 1983. He made his directorial debut ...

* 1998: ''Jorge Luis Borges: Una vida de poesía''; produced by Alphaville – Spirali (Italy); starring Lélia Fischer and Alessandro Atti In 2005, a 3- disc box set of Arrabal's films was released by Cult Epics with ''Viva la muerte'', ''I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse'', and ''The Tree of Guernica''. Several of Arrabal's plays have been adapted for film, including ''Le grand cérémonial'', directed by Pierre-Alain Jolivet; ''El triciclo'', directed by Luis Argueta; ''El ladrón de sueños'', directed by Arroyo; ''Pique-nique'', directed by Louis Sénéchal; ''Guernica'', directed by Peter Lilienthal; and ''

Fando y Lis ''Fando y Lis'' is a 1968 Mexican film directed by Alejandro Jodorowsky in his feature length directorial debut. It is an adaptation of a 1962 play of the same name by Fernando Arrabal, who was working with Jodorowsky on performance art at the tim ...

'', directed by

. One critic wrote, "''Viva la muerte'' is an absolute masterpiece, one of the most astonishing I have seen in my lifetime" (André Pieyre de Mandiargues). Another, for

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

, wrote, "Arrabal is ferociously original" (John Parrack).

Amos Vogel Amos Vogel ( Vogelbaum; April 18, 1921 – April 24, 2012) was a New York City cineaste and curator. Biography Vogel was born in Vienna, Austria. He fled Austria with his parents after the Nazi Anschluß in 1938 and at first studied animal husband ...

wrote, in the ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the cr ...

'', "An audacious, paroxistic, and artistically successful work". Raymond Léopold Bruckberger wrote, for ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', "I prefer Arrabal to

Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

or Ingmar Bergman... he is to cinema what

Rimbaud Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (, ; 20 October 1854 – 10 November 1891) was a French poet known for his transgressive and surreal themes and for his influence on modern literature and arts, prefiguring surrealism. Born in Charleville, he start ...

is to poetry."

Short films

* 1978: ''Sang et or''; produced by Antenne 2; starring Edgar Rock and Joshua Watsky * 1990: ''Échecs et Mythe''; produced by Antenne 2; starring Joël Lautier, Roland Topor, Julie Delpy, and Gabriel Matzneff * 1991: ''New York City!''; produced by Antenne 2; starring

Tom O'Horgan Tom O'Horgan (May 3, 1924 – January 11, 2009) was an American theatre and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals '' Hair'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. During his ...

Melvin Van Peebles Melvin Van Peebles (born Melvin Peebles; August 21, 1932 – September 21, 2021) was an American actor, filmmaker, writer, and composer. He worked as an active filmmaker into the 2000s. His feature film debut, '' The Story of a Three-Day Pass'' ...

, and Tom Bishop

Operas

Arrabal's opera ''Faustbal'' with music by Leonardo Balada premiered at the Teatro Real de Madrid on February 13, 2009, staged by the Comediants of Barcelona. Arrabal wrote of the opera, "Faustbal is a woman who, in the third millennium, is the reincarnation of Alfred Jarry's Doctor Faustroll, a new doctor Faust who asks God and Lucifer for words and prayers so that love and charity might be unified. Nothing can satisfy the hurricane of her scientific curiosity, nor calm the storms of her desires. A genius, very beautiful, and enriched by her transports and transfigurations, she vows a torrid love for her Amazon. She leaps between galaxies while the war to end all civilization rages, and moves through space at supersonic speed. Confronting her, Margarito, supreme leader of the armed forces, dons the armor of brutal, electronic repression. He is madly in love with Faustbal under the sky's cupola. He tries to possess her through the torrent of his tower, employing the services of Mephistopheles himself. Jesús López Cobos, music director of the Teatro Real de Madrid, will conduct the world premiere, which will be sung by sopranos Ana Ibarra and María Rodríguez. The mezzo-soprano Cecilia Diaz will sing the role of the Amazon, while tenors

Gerhard Siegel Gerhard Siegel (born in 1963) is a German operatic tenor. Life and career Born in Trostberg, Siegel studied at the Leopold Mozart Centre in Augsburg with Kammersänger Liselotte Becker-Egner. After engagements at the Theater Trier from 1993, ...

and Eduardo Santamaría will be the two Margaritos, bass

Stefano Palatchi Stefano Palatchi Ribera (born 26 March 1960), known publicly as Stefano Palatchi, is a Spanish opera singer who has sung leading bass roles in Spain and internationally and is noted for stage skills, timbre. and expressiveness. His concert repertoir ...

will perform the role of God, and baritones Tomas Tomasson and Lauri Vasar will be Mephistopheles.” Four other operas with Arrabal's librettos have been staged, and the author describes them as "always having been as complex, yet suffering from as few complexes, as did ''Faustbal''." They are: *''Apokaliptica'', music by

Milko Kelemen Milko Kelemen (30 March 1924 – 8 March 2018) was a Croatian composer. Life Milko Kelemen was born in Slatina, Croatia (then Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes). He studied under Stjepan Šulek in Zagreb, under Olivier Messiaen in Paris ...

. *''L’opéra de la Bastille'', music by Marcel Landowski *''Picknick im Felde'', music by Constantinos Stylianou *''Guernica'', music by Ostfiend Busing In October 1985, Arrabal made his debut as an opera stage director at the Opéra Royal de Belgique, where he directed

Manuel de Falla Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first ...

’s '' La vida breve'' and

Enrique Granados Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...

’ ''Goyescas''. "Of course," Arrabal commented, "under my direction the onstage chorus was nude, or to be more precise, panically covered with clay.” In 1994, Chamber Made produced the opera of Arrabal's
The Two Executioners
', with libretto by Douglas Horton and music by

David Chesworth David Chesworth (born 1958, Stoke-on-Trent, United Kingdom) is an Australian-based interdisciplinary artist and composer. Known for his experimental and at times minimalist music, he has worked solo, in post-punk groups (Essendon Airport, Whadya ...

. The opera ran for two seasons in Melbourne, 1994 and 1996 at the

Malthouse Theatre Malthouse Theatre is the resident theatre company of The Malthouse building in Southbank, part of the Melbourne Arts Precinct. In the 1980s it was known as the Playbox Theatre Company and was housed in the Playbox Theatre in Melbourne's CBD. A ...

. Australia's ''The Independent Monthly'' wrote, "Easily the most impressive and memorable piece of music theatre in 1994."

Novels

*''Baal Babylone'', 1959 (New York: Grove Press, 1960; Berlin:

Luchterhand Literaturverlag The Luchterhand Literaturverlag is a German publisher of contemporary literature based in Munich. It was founded in 1924, and was acquired by Random House in 2001. Luchterhand is considered one of the most prestigious publishers in Germany. Public ...

, 1960; Milan: Lerici, 1960; Amsterdam:

De Bezige Bij De Bezige Bij ("the busy bee") is one of the most important literary publishing companies in the Netherlands. History The company was founded illegally in 1943, during the German occupation of the Netherlands by ; its first publication was a poe ...

, 1972) *''L'enterrement de la sardine'' (Julliard, 1961; ''The Burial of the Sardine'', London: Calder and Boyars, 1966; ''El entierro de la sardina'', Barcelona: Destino, 1984) *''Fêtes et rites de la confusion'' (Madrid, Barcelona: Alfaguara, 1966; ''Riten und Feste der Konfusion'', Stuttgart: Joseph Melzer, 1969) *''La Tour prends garde'' (Paris: Grasset, 1983; ''La torre herida por el rayo'', Barcelona: Destino, 1983; Destino libro, 1984; Círculo de Lectores, 1984; ''A Torre ferida pelo Raio'',

Lisboa Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

: Inquirito, 1982; ''Hohe Türme trifft der Blitz'', Colonia: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1986; ''The Tower Struck by Lightning'', New York:

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, 1988) *''La Reverdie'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois, 1985) *''La piedra iluminada'' (Barcelona: Destino, 1985; ''The Compass Stone'', tr. Andrew Hurley, New York: Grove Press, 1987) *''La vierge rouge'' (Paris: Acropole, 1986; ''La virgen roja'', Barcelona: Seix Barral, 1987; ''A Virgen Vermelha'', Lisboa: Dom Quixote, 1987; ''A Virgen Vermelha'',

Botafogo Botafogo (local/standard alternative Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: ) is a beachfront neighborhood ('' bairro'') in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a mostly upper middle class and small commerce community, and is located between the hills of ...

: Nova Frontera, 1988; ''Die rote Jungfrau'', Göttingen:

Steidl Steidl is a German-language publisher, an international publisher of photobooks, and a printing company, based in Göttingen, Germany. It was started in 1968 by Gerhard Steidl and is still run by him. Overview The company was started by Ger ...

, 1990; ''The Red Virgin'', New York, London:

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Stock, 2002) *''Como un paraíso de locos'' (2008)

Artists' books

Arrabal has made over 700 artists' books in collaboration with

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarre images in ...

René Magritte René François Ghislain Magritte (; 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist known for his depictions of familiar objects in unfamiliar, unexpected contexts, which often provoked questions about the nature and bound ...

, Roland Topor, Julius Baltazar, Antonio Saura, Olivier O. Olivier, Maxime Godard, Jean Cortot, Jorge Camacho, Ralph Gibson, Enrico Baj,

Gustavo Charif Gustavo Charif (born Gustavo Eduardo Charif al-Hāshim, August 18, 1966, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine writer, visual artist and film director. His works are a sort of Dadaism mixed with the secular poetry of actual times. In 1997 the Buenos Ai ...

, Milan Kundera,

Michel Houellebecq Michel Houellebecq (; born Michel Thomas, 26 February 1956 or 1958) is a French author, known for his novels, poems and essays, as well as an occasional actor, filmmaker and singer. His first book was a biographical essay on the horror writer ...

and others. They include: *''L'odeur de Sainteté'' (Paris: Yves Rivière, 1975; with Antonio Saura; 2 copies) *''Cinq sonnets, cincq eaux-fortes'' (Paris: André Biren, 1980; with Balthazar; 80 copies) *''Sous le flux libertin'' (Paris: Robert et Lydie Dutrou, 1991; with Jean Cortot) *''Triptyque'' ( Cuenca: Menú, 2004; with

Catherine Millet Catherine Millet (; born 1 April 1948 in Bois-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine) is a French writer, art critic, curator, and founder and editor of the magazine '' Art Press'', which focuses on modern art and contemporary art. Biography Born in Bois-Col ...

and

; 36 copies) *''Clitoris'' (2008 poem with 56 translations, including Czech by Milan Kundera)

Poetry

*''La pierre de la folie'' (Paris: Julliard, 1963) *''Cent sonnets'' (Saragossa: El Ultimo Parnaso, 1965) *''Humbles paradis'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois, 1985) *''Liberté couleur de femme ou Adieu Babylone, Poèmes cinématographiques'' (

Mortemart Mortemart (; oc, Mòrtamar) is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Regions of France, region in west-central France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Vienne department Ref ...

: Rougerie, 1993) **''Arrabalesques – Lettres à Julius Baltazar'' (Mortemart: Rougerie) *''Diez poemas pánicos y un cuento'' ( Córdoba: Caja Sur y Rute, 1997) In 2015, some of Arrabal's poems were adapted with music by the band Seagoat Bones on their etude album ''Phonèmes''.

Plays

Arrabal has published over 100 plays in 19 volumes. His plays include, with translations noted: *1952 **''Le toit'' (unpublished) ** ''Le char de foin'' (unpublished) ** ''La blessure incurable'' (unpublished) *1958 **''Oraison'' (Paris: Julliard) (''Plays, Vol. 1: Orison, etc.'' translated by Barbara Wright, London: Calder and Boyars, 1962; ''Orazione, etc.'', Milan: Lerici, 1962) ** ''Les deux bourreaux'' (Paris: Julliard) (''The two executioners'' translated by Richard Howard, New York: Grove Press, 1960; ''Plays, Vol. 1: The Two Executioners, etc.'', translated by Barbara Wright, London: Calder and Boyars, 1962; ''I due Carnefici, etc.'', Milan: Lerici, 1962) ** ''Fando et Lis'' (Paris: Julliard) (''Plays, Vol. 1: Fando and Lis, etc.'' translated by Barbara Wright, London: Calder and Boyars, 1962) ** ''Le cimetière des voitures'' (Paris: Julliard) (''The Automobile Graveyard'' translated by Richard Howard, New York: Grove Press, 1960; ''Plays, Vol. 1: The Car Cemetery, etc.'' translated by Barbara Wright, London: Calder and Boyars, 1962; ''Automobil Kirkegaarden'',

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

: Arena, 1964) *1961 **''Guernica'' (Paris: Julliard) (''Plays, Vol. 2: Guernica, etc.'' translated by Barbara Wright, London, Calder and Boyars: 1967) ** ''Le labyrinthe'' (Paris: Julliard) (''Plays, Vol. 2: The Labyrinth, etc.'' translated by Barbara Wright, London, Calder and Boyars: 1967) ** ''Le tricycle'' (Paris: Julliard) (''Plays, Vol. 2: The Tricycle, etc.'' translated by Barbara Wright, London: Calder and Boyars, 1967; ''The Tricycle'' translated by David Herzberger, ''Modern International Drama'' 9.2, 1976, p. 65-91) ** ''Pique-nique en campagne'' (Paris: Julliard). (''Picnic on the Battlefield'' translated by James Hewitt, '' Evergreen Review'' 4.15, 1960, p. 76-90; ''Pic-nic, etc.'', Milan: Lerici, 1962; ''Plays, Vol. 2: Picnic on the Battlefield, etc.'', translated by Barbara Wright, London: Calder and Boyars, 1967) ** ''La bicyclette du condamné'' (Paris: Julliard) (''Plays, Vol. 2: The Condemned Man's Bicycle, etc.'' translated by Barbara Wright, London: Calder and Boyars, 1967) *1965 **''Le grand cérémonial'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) (''Plays, Vol. 3: The Grand Ceremonial, etc.'' translated by Jean Benedetti; London: Calder and Boyars, 1970) ** ''Cérémonie pour un noir assassiné'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Cérémonie pour une chèvre et un nuage'' (Daily Bul) *1966 **''Le couronnement'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Concert dans un oeuf'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1967 **''L'architecte et l'empereur d'Assyrie'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) (''De Architekt en de Keiser van Assyrië'', Amsterdam: Uitgeverij de Bezige Bij, 1969; ''Plays, Vol. 3: The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria'' translated by Jean Benedetti, London: Calder and Boyars, 1970; ''The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria'' translated by Everard d'Harnoncourt and Adele Shank, New York: Grove Press, 1969; ''Der Architekt und der Kaiser von Assyrien'', Berlin: Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1971; O ''Arquitecto e o Imperador da Assiria'',

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

: Desta, 1976) ** ''Les amours impossibles'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) (''Impossible Lovers, etc.'' translated by Bettina Knapp, '' The Drama Review'' 13, 1968, p. 71-86) ** ''Les quatre cubes'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La communion solennelle'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) (''First Communion'' translated by Michel Benedikt in ''Modern Spanish Theatre'', New York:

E. P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 4, ...

, 1968, p. 309–317; ''Solemn Communion, etc.'' translated by Bettina Knapp, ''The Drama Review'' 13, 1968, p. 71-86; ''Plays, Vol. 3: The Solemn Communion, etc.'' translated by John Calder, London: Calder and Boyars, 1970) ** ''Streap-tease de la jalousie'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) (''Striptease of Jealousy, etc.'' translated by Bettina Knapp, ''The Drama Review'' 13, 1968, p. 71-86) ** ''La jeunesse illustrée'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Dieu est-il devenu fou?'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1968 **''Le jardin des délices'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) (''Garden of Delights'' translated by Helen Gary Bishop and Tom Bishop, New York: Grove Press, 1974) ** ''Bestialité érotique'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Une tortue nommée Dostoïevski'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Théâtre choisi'' (4 volumes en japonais) (Tokyo: Shichosha) *1969 **''...Et ils passèrent des menottes aux fleurs'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) (''And They Put Handcuffs on the Flowers'' translated by Charles Marowitz, New York: Grove Press, 1973) ** ''L'aurore rouge et noire'' (''Groupuscule de mon coeur''; ''Tous les parfums d'Arabie''; ''Sous les pavés la plage''; ''Les fillettes'') (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Le lai de Barrabas'' (Le couronnement) (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1970 **''Happening at the Théâtre Plaisance in Paris in February'' (Grand-Guignol) *1972 **''Ars Amandi'' (opéra "Panique") (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Dieu tenté par les mathématiques'' (opéra "Panique") (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Le ciel et la merde'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La grande revue du XXe siècle'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1975 **''Jeunes barbares d'aujourd'hui'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1976 **''La guerre de mille ans (Bella Ciao)'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Sur le fil ou la ballade du train fantôme'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1978 **''La tour de Babel (Oyez Patria mi affliccion)'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La marche royale'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Une orange sur le mont de Vénus'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La gloire en images'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Vole-moi un petit milliard'' (Théâtre Bouffe) (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Le pastaga des loufs ou Ouverture Orang-outan'' (Théâtre Bouffe) (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Punk et punk et colégram'' (Théâtre Bouffe) (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1979 **''Inquisición'' ( Granada: Don Quijote) *1980 **''Mon doux royaume saccagé'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Le roi de Sodome'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Le ciel et la merde II'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1982 **''L'extravagante réussite de Jésus-Christ, Karl Marx et William Shakespeare'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Lève-toi et rêve'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1983 ** ''Le cheval-jument ou hommage à John Kennedy T.'' *1984 **''Les délices de la chair'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La ville dont le prince était une princesse'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1985 **''Bréviaire d'amour d'un haltérophile'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Apokalyptica'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La charge des centaures'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1988 **''Les "cucarachas" de Yale'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''Une pucelle pour un gorille'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La madonne rouge'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) ** ''La traversée de l'Empire'' (Paris: Christian Bourgois) *1989 **''L'extravagante croisade d'un révolutionnaire obese'' (

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

: Phi) *1990 **''La nuit est aussi un soleil'' (

Actes Sud Actes Sud is a French publishing house based in Arles. It was founded in 1978 by author Hubert Nyssen. By 2013, the company, then headed by Nyssen's daughter, Françoise Nyssen, had an annual turnover of 60 million euros and 60 staff members. H ...

) ** ''Roues d'infortune'' (Actes Sud) ** ''L'opéra de la Bastille'' (opéra écrit pour le bicentenaire de la Révolution française) *1992 **''Oeuvres Tome I (théâtre, poésie, roman)'' (Milan: Spirali – Vel) *1994 **''Lully'' (Actes Sud) ** ''Entends la nuit douce qui marche'' (Actes Sud) ** ''Le fou rire des liliputiens'' (Actes Sud) *1996 **''Comme un lis entre les épines'' (Actes Sud) *1997 **''Théâtre complet'' (7 volumes en langue coréenne) ( Séoul: Coréenne) *1999 **''Lettre d'amour'' (Actes Sud) ** ''Comme un supplice chinois'' (Actes Sud) ** ''Théâtre complet'' (2 volumes en langue espagnole) (

: Espasa) Arrabal's plays were frequently produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan, New York City throughout the 1970s. Productions at La MaMa included: * ''The Two Executioners'' (1962) directed by

Andy Milligan Andrew Jackson Milligan Jr. (February 12, 1929 – June 3, 1991) was an American playwright, screenwriter, actor, and filmmaker, whose work includes 27 movies made between 1965 and 1988. In spite of the fact that he directed a number of movie ...

; Arrabal performed alongside Martine Barrat * ''Fando and Lis'' (1971) directed by Franz Marijnen * ''Dos Obras de Arrabal'' (1972) directed by Delfor Peralta * ''The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria'' (1976) directed by

* ''The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria'' (1977) directed by Tom O'Horgan * ''Dance/Theater of Richard S. Bach'' (1984) choreographed by Richard S. Bach A traveling company from La MaMa also took ''The Architect and the Emperor of Assyria'' on tour to Philadelphia, Amsterdam, Venezuela, and

Taormina Taormina ( , , also , ; scn, Taurmina) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Messina, on the east coast of the island of Sicily, Italy. Taormina has been a tourist destination since the 19th century. Its beaches on ...

in 1977–1979. For a more extensive list of productions of Arrabal's plays, see his official website.

Paintings

* Arrabal has described himself as a "frustrated painter". He has produced approximately 50 canvases and 100 drawings and collages, which have been exhibited in museums such as the Paris Art Center, Musée de Bayeux, and the Villa San Carlo Borromeo Art Museum in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

. * His approach to painting involves close collaboration with artists who produce large-format

oil painting Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments with a medium of drying oil as the binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on wood panel or canvas for several centuries, spreading from Europe to the rest of ...

s based on the detailed sketches he provides. * In 1962, his first painting was chosen for reproduction in the art publication ''La Brèche: Action Surréaliste Revue'' by its founding editor, André Breton. * Arrabal has collaborated with sculptor and video artist Christèle Jacob, with whom he has created a dozen videos and

photomontage Photomontage is the process and the result of making a composite photograph by cutting, gluing, rearranging and overlapping two or more photographs into a new image. Sometimes the resulting composite image is photographed so that the final image ...

series, including ''Les artilleurs des échecs et de la littérature'' (The artillery corps of chess and literature), inspired by a 1909 artwork by

Henri Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the bilingual Spanish-French edition, Paris: Bourgois, 1972, col. 10–18; Paris: Anonyme Anarchiste Pop, 1971; Buenos Aires: Granica, 1973; Noce: Babilonia, 1976; Barcelona: Actuales, 1978). *''Le Panique'' (Paris: Union Générale d'Edition, 1973). *''Sur Fischer: Initiation aux échecs'' (

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

: du Rocher, 1974; ''Fischer, le roi maudit'' evised edition Luxembourg: Phi, 1988). *''Carta a los militantes comunistas españoles'' (Sueño y mentira del eurocomunismo) (bilingual Spanish-French edition, Paris: Bourgois, 1978; Barcelona: Actuales, 1978; Acción directa, 1980). *''Les échecs féeriques et libertaires'' (articles from '' L'Express'') (Monaco: du Rocher, 1980). *''Carta a los comunistas españoles y otras cartas'' (Letters to Franco, to the King, etc.) (

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

: Godoy, 1981). *''Carta a Fidel Castro'' (Madrid: Playor, 1983; Mexico: Diana, 1984; Europa, América, Portugal, 1984). *''Echecs et mythe'' (Paris: Payot, 1984; ''Mitos em Xeque'', Río de Janeiro: Globo, 1988). *''Introducción a Feliciano de Silva'' (Cátedra, col. Letras Hispánicas, 1986). *''El Greco'' (

, Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1991; ''El Greco'', Barcelona: Destino, 1991; ''El Greco'', London: Calder and Boyars; New York: Grove Press –

, 1991; ''El Greco'', Milan: Spirali, 1991; ''El Greco: Le frénétique du spasme'', Paris: Flohic, 1991). *''Goya / Dalí'' (Milan: Spirali – Vel; Rome: Studio di Val Cervo, 1992). *''Fêtes et défaites sur l'échiquier'' (Paris: L'Archipel, 1992). *''Cartas a Baltazar'' (versión de F. Torres Monreal, 1993). *''Genios y figuras'' (preface by A. Berenguer, Espasa Calpe, 1993). *''Las manazas del Samaritano. Conversaciones con Ionesco'' (La Vuelta, nº 210, mayo, 1994). *''La dudosa luz del día'' (translated into Spanish from the original French with notes by F. Torres Monreal, Espasa Calpe, 1994). *''Carta al Rey de España'' (Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 1995). *''Un esclave nommé Cervantès'' (Paris: Plon, 1996; Un ''esclavo llamado Cervantes'', Madrid Espasa Calpe, 1996). *''Diccionario pánico'' (Bruxelles: Escritos, 1998). *''Lettre à Staline'' (Paris: Flammarion, 2004). *''Houellebecq!'' (Paris: Le cherche midi, 2005). *''El Pánico,'' Manifiesto para el tercer milenio, 2007. *''Diccionario pánico'', 2008. *''Universos arrabalescos'', 2009. *''Defensa de Kundera'', 2009.

Interest in chess

Arrabal has a strong interest in

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to dist ...

and has attended many

chess tournament A chess tournament is a series of chess games played competitively to determine a winning individual or team. Since the first international chess tournament in London 1851 chess tournament, London, 1851, chess tournaments have become the standard ...

s. He is close to American chess Grandmaster

Gata Kamsky Gata Kamsky ( tt-Cyrl, Гата Камский, italics=no; russian: Гата Камский; born June 2, 1974) is a Soviet-born American chess grandmaster, and a five-time U.S. champion. Kamsky reached the final of the FIDE World Chess Cha ...

and advocated for Kamsky on his chess blog during Kamsky's negotiations with FIDE over a

World Chess Championship The World Chess Championship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Magnus Carlsen of Norway, who has held the title since 2013. The first event recognized as a world championship was the 1886 match ...

match.. For over thirty years, Arrabal has written a column on chess for the French weekly news magazine L’Express. His columns have included, among many others: *''Echecs et mythes'' *''Fêtes et défaites sur l'échiquier'' *''Les échecs féériques et libertaires'' *''

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 1 ...

: el rey maldito''

References

External links

Arrabal's website
excerpts, articles, interviews, videos on

Prague Writers' Festival The Prague Writers' Festival (PWF) is an annual literary festival in Prague, Czech Republic, taking place every spring since 1991. In 2005 the festival was also held in Vienna. Many of the events are broadcast via the internet. International lite ...

website
Fernando Arrabal's Cinématon: a 4 minute online portrait by Gérard CourantChess Express Arrabal
(Arrabal's chess blog) *
Arrabal's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections
__FORCETOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Arrabal, Fernando 1932 births Living people People from Melilla 20th-century Spanish writers 20th-century Spanish male writers 21st-century Spanish writers Escapees from Spanish detention Spanish experimental filmmakers Recipients of the Legion of Honour Pataphysicians Spanish dramatists and playwrights Spanish male dramatists and playwrights Spanish escapees Spanish film directors Spanish novelists Spanish male novelists Spanish writers in French Spanish surrealist artists Spanish surrealist writers

Childhood (1932–1946)

Youth and young adulthood (1946–1956)

Politics

Awards and recognition

Selected works

Feature-length films

Short films

Operas

Novels

Artists' books

Poetry

Plays

Paintings

Interest in chess

References

Further reading

External links