Anthology of Black Humor
ANDRÉ BRETON
Translated from the French and with an Introduction by
Mark Polizzotti
CITY LIGHTS BOOKS
San Francisco
André Breton, Anthologie de l’humour noir
copyright ©1979 by Société Nouvelle des Editions Pauvert.
Translation and Introduction copyright ©1997 by Mark Polizzotti.
All rights reserved.
Cover design: Mark Polizzotti, from an anonymous photograph of André Breton ca. 1924
Book design: Robert Sharrard
Typography: Harvest Graphics
Publication of this translation was assisted by a grant from the French Ministry of Culture.
Acknowledgments for the use of copyrighted material appear on pages 354-356.
Library of Congress Cataloging–in–Publication Data
Breton, André, 1886-1966
[Anthologie de l’humour noir. English]
Anthology of black humor / by André Breton ; [translated from the French by Mark Polizzotti].—1st City Lights ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 0-87286-321-2
1. Wit and humor. 2. Black humor (Literature) I. Polizzotti, Mark. II. Title.
| PN6 153.B6713 1997 | |
| 808.87—dc20 | 96-9666 |
| CIP |
CITY LIGHTS BOOKS are edited by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Nancy J. Peters and published at the City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94133.
CONTENTS
Introduction: Laughter In The Dark,
Mark Polizzotti
Foreword to the 1966 French Edition
Lightning Rod, André Breton
Isidore Ducasse (Comte de Lautréamont)