SOUPAULT (Philippe). Autograph manuscript entitled...

SOUPAULT (Philippe). Autograph manuscript entitled "Les pas dans les pas". 21 ff. in-folio in violet ink except for the title in pencil; first page partially sunned.
REFLECTIONS AND REMEMBRANCES ON THE DADA MOVEMENT, collected to form this chapter of his collection Profils perdus, published in 1963 by Mercure de France.
" ... It is because of the scandal that it provoked that one misunderstood and badly defined the Dada movement. I believed, as did my Dadaist friends, and I still believe, that it was necessary to cause a scandal, that it was even one of the main reasons for the existence of this "movement". I am convinced - and the future has proven me right - that my contemporaries were wrong to regard the Dada movement as a schoolboy farce, as a student ruckus and as a publicity campaign launched by young upstart literati to draw attention to their writings. It was much more than that, and today I am tempted to attach more importance to it than I did when I was one of its leaders. In fact, I think that this movement was the most violent and spectacular manifestation of the revolt of a whole generation..."
Philippe Soupault then evokes Arthur Rimbaud as a precursor, Guillaume Apollinaire as the spearhead of modernity, recalls which were the "masters" who dominated the literary landscape when Dada arose, how much the violence and absurdity of the First World War played an important role on the young generation of then, what a shock was the Russian Revolution, and speaks of his meeting with Andre Breton and Louis Aragon. He then presents the literary tastes and dislikes they shared, the founding in 1921 of their magazine Literature, their decisive meeting with Tristan Tzara and the progressive constitution of the Dada movement. He recalls some of their outbursts, such as their insult to the memory of Anatole France or the mock trial of Maurice Barres, and then relates the breakup of the group, the development by Andre Breton and himself of the "surrealist" method, the publication of Champs Magnetiques and the accession of Louis Aragon. He then explains how he moved away from surrealism because of the authoritarianism of Andre Breton, the spirit of chapel, the politicization of the group or the affairism of some members like Luis Bunuel, Joan Miro and Salvador Dali.