Michel Butor sees history as a dynamic force which plays a vital role in the shaping of the present. In his works he sets out to challenge the prevalent assumption of stasis and to teach us … how to recognize the patterns which render comprehensible the evolving body of complex material at our disposal….

[One] of the central motifs in Butor's world is that of the museum or art gallery. For Butor … a collection is not a body of petrified works from another age; it is, rather a power source where the past crosses into the present. If we consider a selection of his writings we shall quickly become aware of the importance of the museum as a pivotal structure in every aspect of his work; it is to be found in his criticism, his poetic texts, his fiction, and his drama. Not only does Butor incorporate existing galleries...