Artaud et les avant-gardes théâtrales ed. by Olivier Penot-Lacassagne

Abstract

544 Reviews of manuscripts); most entries are annotated; key words are attributed to secondary material and grouped in a thematic index. Other indexes list items deemed to be of special interest, theses, reviewers, and, jointly, the names of authors and translators. After an introduction and sections on 'Manuscrits, editions et traductions', 'Etudes bibliographiques', 'Etudes biographiques', and 'Etudes generales', the authors are allowed a degree of flexibility in establishing thematic chapters. They have chosen 'Territoires', 'Bibliotheque, genetique, traduction', 'Stylistique, rhetorique', 'On tologie, philosophie, religion', 'Esthetique, histoire litteraire, reception', and 'Etudes des correspondances'. Because of the subjectivity inevitably involved in such divi sions, a clear system of cross-referencing is imperative; the index of key terms helps to a limited extent only: it has to start from accurate and complete information, and this, despite the I941 main entries and 82 reviews listed (such a small number should surely have alerted any serious bibliographer to a significant shortfall), is regrettably far from being the case. The opening section inexplicably excludes reference to any manuscripts of prose writings or correspondence; and the list of editions, less complete than in previous checklists, will be useless to bibliophiles. If the French have any tradition of biblio graphical expertise, it is regarding primary writings, so such gaps bode ill. Secondary material fares worse. The cross-reference system proves appallingly cumbrous. Some items are repeated, others manifestly misplaced; many are omitted or their contents under- ormisrepresented. My own bibliography is said to be 'organise selon un classe ment peu maniable' (p. 63), a charge which only draws attention to the bewildering disorder of the work under review. One example: where would you expect to find Arthur Knodel's fine introductory study, Saint-John Perse: A Study of his Poetry (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, i966)? Under 'Etudes generales' would seem reasonable. One hunts there in vain, a process made lengthier if the year of publication is not known in advance. Only by checking the index against his name and referring back to the thirteen items it contains does one discover, from the twelfth entry, that the book is classified in the subsection 'Ascendants et contemporains' of the chapter 'Esthetique, histoire litteraire, reception' (item I650). And the French pride themselves on their logic! The consultation of this volume is a highly frustrat ing experience, one which this reviewer would not wish on anyone. TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN ROGERLITTLE Artaud et les avant-gardes th&itrales. Ed. by OLIVIER PENOT-LACASSAGNE. (Antonin Artaud, 2) Paris and Caen: Lettres Modernes Minard. 2005. I92 PP. ?I3.36; E20. ISBN 2-256-91079-2. Artaud et les avant-gardes theatrales is the second in a proposed series of volumes devoted to contemporary readings of all aspects of Artaud's work. The series editor, Olivier Penot-Lacassagne, declares that no period of Artaud's work will be high lighted in these volumes at the expense of others. Rather, the entirety of Artaud's writings will be examined from a diversity of viewpoints, thus encouraging dif ferences in style and tone in the critiques provided. What will unite the volumes and chapters, declares Penot-Lacassagne, is their capacity to heighten our interest in Artaud's work, thereby confirming the contemporary relevance of his theories and their ability to unleash a tremendous contagious force. While the series in its entirety aims to cover all aspects of Artaud's work, each volume is none the less devoted to a particular theme. The chapters contained in the first volume, Modernites d'Antonin Artaud, focus on his refusal of everything that is identified with or gathered under the rubric of 'modernity', a term imbued MLR, IoI.2, 2006 545 with a negative value inmuch of his ceuvre. Although they were written in the first half of the twentieth century, his texts express a rejection of what he termed 'false modern values'. His works consistently call for spiritual renewal and for a break with twentieth-century progress and industrialism. This second volume concentrates on the reception accorded his work in various decades of the twentieth century both in theWest (including Eastern Europe) and in various countries throughout Asia. More specifically, the chapters of this volume deal with the links between his writings and...