Antonin Artaud - Signed Autograph Letter

Antonin ARTAUD (1896 - 1948), theater theorist and actor, writer, French poet
Autograph letter signed to the writer Robert Desnos. This Monday March 15, 1937; 2 pages in-4° on letterhead from the café “Le Dôme”. Plie d'usage
Returning from his trip to Mexico in 1936, he brought out a collection of conferences and essays under the title of Revolutionary Messages. His break with the surrealist movement was completed, notably with the conference entitled Surrealism and Revolution. Once in France, he found his Belgian fiancée Cécile Schramme. But his regular drug use for five years forced him to enter detoxification at the French Surgery Center, the costs being covered by Jean Paulhan. His friend Robert Desnos helps him get back in the saddle but in vain: “My dear Desnos, Thank you for your letter. But perhaps you know that I am currently leaving a nursing home and that I have been working hard for some time to regain a balance that I have lost for years and the absence of which, I think, is cause of my difficulties. I must be restored to my strength to do what I have to do and say what I have to say. The Health Center was only a stage, in any case, for the moment I cannot tackle work which would require very significant physical expenditure. For Radio, it would be something else. I would be sorry to discourage your friendship and I am extremely touched by your concern but I am not physically capable at the moment of making a film. To try would result in a failure that I prefer to avoid. Please don’t blame me, but you’ve definitely been there…. » Relations between Antonin Artaud and Robert Desnos have always been very friendly and the latter will come to his aid as specified in our letter of March 15, 1937.