THERE IS NO DENYING that, in an anthology of texts illus-
trating black humor, André Breton found himself dis-
cussing language more than anything else. Similarly, reflect-
ing throughout his career on his vocation as a poet, Paul
Nougé found himself speaking most of the time of poetry
as a way of handling words. Yet at no time, in his Journal
or elsewhere, did Nougé contend that the province of poetry
was the medium of spoken language alone. Nor did Breton
argue that only through words can the intelligence govern-
ing black humor find faithful expression. In his Anthologie
de l'Humour noir, excluding reference to the paintings of
Dalí and Picasso while alluding to their writings, Breton was
doing no more than accept the limitations imposed by his
undertaking. Not once, in that volume or outside it, did he
ever suggest that verbal language is the only acceptable med-
ium, or even the best one, for intelligent poetic communi-
cation. Nougé's preoccupation with his own function as a
writer never blinded him to the importance of the parallel
role of René Magritte as painter. His essays on Magritte's
painting -- among the most valuable and illuminating ever
written on the subject -- prove conclusively that we have no
excuse for believing Nougé looked upon the poetic creative

-122-