Language of Surrealism

Peter Stockwell is Professor of Literary Linguistics at the University of Nottingham, UK. He is the author or editor of 30 books in literary stylistics, sociolinguistics and cognitive poetics, including Texture (Edinburgh University Press), Cognitive Poetics (Routledge), The Poetics of Science Fiction (Pearson), and the co-edited volumes The Language and Literature Reader (Routledge), Cognitive Grammar in Literature (Benjamins), Contemporary Stylistics (Bloomsbury), and The Handbook of Stylistics (Cambridge University Press).

'This is the book on surrealism that we have been waiting for in stylistics and twentieth century literary studies. With full contextualisation of the movement and its affiliated figures, Stockwell offers insight into surrealist writing processes, the composition of surrealist texts, and their literary experience for contemporary readers. Ultimately, Stockwell systematically demonstrates not only that surrealism is characterised by the dissonance of defamiliarisation and immersion, but also that modern stylistic analysis is paramount to unravelling the politics and dream-like texture of the surrealist enterprise.' - Dr Alison Gibbons, Sheffield Hallam University, UK 'A completely fascinating and engaging read: Stockwell combines a rich, in-depth consideration of the 'historical moment' of production with the rigour of stylistic/cognitive poetic observation. The result is to go beyond the mere classification of 'surrealist text' to illuminate surrealist writerly technique and the readerly experience of surreal image.' - Dr Lisa Nahajec, Liverpool Hope University, UK

• PART I: THE ORIGINS OF SURREALISM1. The pre-history of surrealism2. The biography of surrealism3. Language in surrealist thoughtPART II: WRITING SURREALISM4. Automaticity5. Collage6. DissonancePART III: READING SURREALISM7. Coherence and confusion8. ambient experience9. DisorientationPART IV: TAMING SURREALISM10. Surrealism in the service of the world.