ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on avant-garde literature and art in Europe and America during the first quarter of the twentieth century. It examines five movements that shaped response to the demands of the modern age and contributed to the creation of a modern sensibility: Cubism, Futurism, the Metaphysical School, Dada, and Surrealism. The book investigates the Cubist art of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, and relates it to simultaneous poetry by Apollinaire, repetitive poetry by Gertrude Stein, and fractured poetry by Pierre Reverdy. At the dawn of the twentieth century, the dominant styles in poetry and art were Symbolism and Impressionism, respectively- both of which were realistic too. Suddenly, with very little warning, an anti-realistic backlash developed that encompassed all of the arts- not just poetry and painting but music, theater, ballet, design, modern dance, and a dozen other disciplines.
