SOURCE: A Marvelous World: Poems by Benjamin Péret, Louisiana State University Press, 1985, pp. xiii–xvii, 93–97.

In the following introduction and conclusion to her collection of translated poetry by Péret, Jackson discusses Péret's use of the Surrealist principle of the “marvelous” in his poetry. She goes on to point out the consistency of style and quality throughout his work, offering a brief assessment of his major publications.

“Birds fly, fish swim, and men invent,” says Benjamin Péret. His poetic world is literally a marvelous invention, so much so that, on entering it, one must first expect the unexpected and then be prepared to enjoy the game as it is proposed or to share in the horrors and ecstasies of extraordinary dramatic situations. Suspension of disbelief is, in this case, an absolute necessity.

Péret is a Surrealist's Surrealist. A member of the movement from its...