Women in the Surrealist Conversation: Introduction

Women participated fully in what might be called the surrealist conversation, a philosophical exchange involving a process of defining, correcting, and redefining what surrealism stands for through texts and art. This special issue of the JSA devoted to women surrealists and the Americas demonstrates how scholars, too, participate actively in dialogue with one another, and have done so consistently since the landmark publications by Xavière Gauthier (1971) and Whitney Chadwick (1985) of comprehensive studies of women involved with the surrealist movement. This essay introduces the essays in the special issue.