''transition'' was an experimental literary journal that featured

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

, expressionist, and

Dada Dada () or Dadaism was an art movement of the European avant-garde in the early 20th century, with early centres in Zürich, Switzerland, at the Cabaret Voltaire (in 1916). New York Dada began c. 1915, and after 1920 Dada flourished in Pari ...

art and artists. It was founded in 1927 by Maria McDonald and her husband

Eugene Jolas John George Eugène Jolas (October 26, 1894 – May 26, 1952) was a writer, translator and literary critic. Early life John George Eugène Jolas was born October 26, 1894, in Union Hill, New Jersey (what is today Union City, New Jersey). His p ...

and published in Paris. They were later assisted by editors Elliot Paul (April 1927 – March 1928), Robert Sage (October 1927 – Fall 1928), and James Johnson Sweeney (June 1936 – May 1938).

Origins

The literary journal was intended as an outlet for experimental writing and featured

modernist Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...

and other linguistically innovative writing and also contributions by visual artists,

critics A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...

, and political activists. It ran until spring 1938. A total of 27 issues were produced. It was distributed primarily through Shakespeare and Company, the Paris bookstore run by Sylvia Beach. While it originally almost exclusively featured poetic experimentalists, it later accepted contributions from sculptors, civil rights activists, carvers, critics, and cartoonists. Editors who joined the journal later on were Stuart Gilbert, Caresse Crosby and

Harry Crosby Harry Crosby (June 4, 1898 – December 10, 1929) was an American heir, World War I veteran, ''bon vivant'', poet, and publisher who for some epitomized the Lost Generation in American literature. He was the son of one of the richest banking fam ...

. Maeve Sage acted as secretary for the magazine during a portion of its Paris-based run.

Purpose

Published quarterly, ''transition'' also featured

Surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to ...

, Expressionist, and

art. In an introduction to the first issue, Eugene Jolas wrote:

Manifesto

The journal gained notoriety in 1929 when Jolas issued a manifesto about writing. He personally asked writers to sign "The Revolution of the Word Proclamation" which appeared in issue 16/17 of ''transition''. It began: The Proclamation was signed by

Kay Boyle Kay Boyle (February 19, 1902 – December 27, 1992) was an American novelist, short story writer, educator, and political activist. She was a Guggenheim Fellow and O. Henry Award winner. Early years The granddaughter of a publisher, Boyle was ...

Whit Burnett Whit Burnett (August 14, 1899 – April 22, 1973) was an American writer and educator who founded and edited the literary magazine '' Story''. In the 1940s, ''Story'' was an important magazine in that it published the first or early works of many w ...

, Hart Crane, Caresse Crosby,

, Martha Foley, Stuart Gilbert, A. Lincoln Gillespie, Leigh Hoffman,

, Elliot Paul, Douglas Rigby, Theo Rutra, Robert Sage,

Harold J. Salemson Harold J. Salemson (September 30, 1910 - August 25, 1988) was a correspondent for newspapers, a film and book critic, as well as a publisher, editor, and translator. He served in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was put on the Hollywood blackl ...

, and Laurence Vail.

Featured writers

''Transition stories'', a 1929 selection by E. Jolas and R. Sage from the first thirteen numbers featured:

Gottfried Benn Gottfried Benn (2 May 1886 – 7 July 1956) was a German poet, essayist, and physician. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature five times. He was awarded the Georg Büchner Prize in 1951. Biography and work Family and beginnings Go ...

(''Polar Bears and Others''),

Robert M. Coates Robert Myron Coates (April 6, 1897 – February 8, 1973) was an American novelist, short story writer and art critic. He published five novels; one classic historical work, '' The Outlaw Years'' (1930) which deals with the history of the land pi ...

(''Conversations No. 7''), Emily Holmes Coleman (''The Wren's Nest''), Robert Desnos, William Closson Emory (''Love in the West''), Léon-Paul Fargue,

Konstantin Fedin Konstantin Aleksandrovich Fedin ( rus, Константи́н Алекса́ндрович Фе́дин, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈfʲedʲɪn, a=Konstantin Alyeksandrovich Fyedin.ru.vorb.oga; – 15 July 1977) was a So ...

, Murray Goodwin, (''A Day in the Life of a Robot''), Leigh Hoffman (''Catastrophe''), Eugene Jolas (''Walk through Cosmopolis''), Matthew Josephson (''Lionel and Camilla''), James Joyce (''A Muster from Work in Progress''), Franz Kafka ('' The Sentence''), Vladimir Lidin,

Ralph Manheim Ralph Frederick Manheim (April 4, 1907 – September 26, 1992) was an American translator of German and French literature, as well as occasional works from Dutch, Polish and Hungarian. He was one of the most acclaimed translators of the 20th cen ...

(''Lustgarten and Christkind''), Peter Negoe (''Kaleidoscope''), Elliot Paul (''States of Sea''), Georges Ribemont-Dessaignes, Robert Sage (''Spectral Moorings''), Kurt Schwitters (''Revolution''), Philippe Soupault,

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

(''As a Wife Has a Cow a Love Story''). Some other artists, authors and works published in ''transition'' included Samuel Beckett (''Assumption'', ''For Future Reference''), Kay Boyle (''Dedicated to Guy Urquhart''), H. D. (''Gift'', ''Psyche'', ''Dream'', ''No'', ''Socratic''),

Max Ernst Max Ernst (2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German (naturalised American in 1948 and French in 1958) painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and Surrealis ...

(''Jeune Filles en des Belles Poses'', ''The Virgin Corrects the Child Jesus before Three Witnesses''), Stuart Gilbert (''The Aeolus Episode in Ulysses'', ''Function of Words'', ''Joyce Thesaurus Minusculus''),

Juan Gris José Victoriano González-Pérez (23 March 1887 – 11 May 1927), better known as Juan Gris (; ), was a Spanish painter born in Madrid who lived and worked in France for most of his active period. Closely connected to the innovative artistic ge ...

(''Still Life''), Ernest Hemingway (''Three Stories'', ''Hills like White Elephants''), Franz Kafka (''

The Metamorphosis ''Metamorphosis'' (german: Die Verwandlung) is a novella written by Franz Kafka which was first published in 1915. One of Kafka's best-known works, ''Metamorphosis'' tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa, who wakes one morning to find himsel ...

''),

Alfred Kreymborg Alfred Francis Kreymborg (December 10, 1883 – August 14, 1966) was an American poet, novelist, playwright, literary editor and anthologist. Early life and associations He was born in New York City to Hermann and Louisa Kreymborg (née Nasher), ...

(from: ''Manhattan Anthology''), Pablo Picasso (''Petite Fille Lisant''), Muriel Rukeyser (''Lover as Fox''), Gertrude Stein (''An Elucidation'', ''The Life and Death of Juan Gris'', ''Tender Buttons'', ''Made a Mile Away''),

William Carlos Williams William Carlos Williams (September 17, 1883 – March 4, 1963) was an American poet, writer, and physician closely associated with modernism and imagism. In addition to his writing, Williams had a long career as a physician practicing both pedia ...

(''The Dead Baby'', ''The Somnambulists'', ''A Note on the Recent Work of James Joyce'', ''Winter'', ''Improvisations'', ''A Voyage to Paraguay''). Also Paul Bowles,

Bob Brown Robert James Brown (born 27 December 1944) is a former Australian politician, medical doctor and environmentalist. He was a senator and the parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens. Brown was elected to the Australian Senate on the Tasma ...

, Kathleen Cannell, Malcolm Cowley, Hart Crane, Abraham Lincoln Gillespie Jr. (on music),

(also as ''Theo Rutra''), Marius Lyle, Robert McAlmon, Archibald McLeish

Allen Tate John Orley Allen Tate (November 19, 1899 – February 9, 1979), known professionally as Allen Tate, was an American poet, essayist, social commentator, and poet laureate from 1943 to 1944. Life Early years Tate was born near Winchester, ...

;

Bryher Bryher ( kw, Breyer "place of hills") is one of the smallest inhabited islands of the Isles of Scilly, with a population of 84 in 2011, spread across . History The name of the island is recorded as ''Brayer'' in 1336 and ''Brear'' in 1500. Ge ...

Morley Callaghan Edward Morley Callaghan (February 22, 1903 – August 25, 1990) was a Canadian novelist, short story writer, playwright, and TV and radio personality. Biography Of Canadian/English-immigrant parentage,Clara Thomas, ''Canadian Novelists 192 ...

, Rhys Davies, Robert Graves, Sidney Hunt,

Robie Macauley Robie Mayhew Macauley (May 31, 1919 – November 20, 1995) was an American editor, novelist and critic whose literary career spanned more than 50 years. Biography Early life Robie Macauley was born on May 31, 1919, in Grand Rapids, Michigan ...

Laura Riding Laura Riding Jackson (born Laura Reichenthal; January 16, 1901 – September 2, 1991), best known as Laura Riding, was an American poet, critic, novelist, essayist and short story writer. Early life She was born in New York City to Nathan ...

, Ronald Symond, Dylan Thomas. Christian Zervos' article ''Picasso à Dinard'' was featured in the Spring 1928 issue. No. 26, 1937, with a Marcel Duchamp cover, featured Hans Arp, Man Ray, Fernand Léger,

László Moholy-Nagy László Moholy-Nagy (; ; born László Weisz; July 20, 1895 – November 24, 1946) was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as a professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the ...

, Piet Mondrian,

Alexander Calder Alexander Calder (; July 22, 1898 – November 11, 1976) was an American sculptor known both for his innovative mobiles (kinetic sculptures powered by motors or air currents) that embrace chance in their aesthetic, his static "stabiles", and hi ...

and others. A third to half the space in the early years of ''transition'' was given to translations, some of which done by Maria McDonald Jolas; French writers included: André Breton,

André Gide André Paul Guillaume Gide (; 22 November 1869 – 19 February 1951) was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature (in 1947). Gide's career ranged from its beginnings in the symbolist movement, to the advent of anticolonialism ...

and the Peruvian Victor Llona ; German and Austrian poets and writers included Hugo Ball, Carl Einstein,

Yvan Goll Yvan Goll (also: Iwan Goll, Ivan Goll; born Isaac Lang; 29 March 1891 – 27 February 1950) was a French-German poet who was bilingual and wrote in both French and German. He had close ties to both German expressionism and to French surrealism ...

, Rainer Maria Rilke, René Schickele, August Stramm,

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which he wr ...

; Bulgarian, Czech, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbian, Swedish, Yiddish, and Native American texts were also translated. Perhaps the most famous work to appear in ''transition'' was ''

Finnegans Wake ''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction which combines a bod ...

'', by James Joyce. Many segments of the unfinished novel were published under the name of ''Work in Progress''.

Featured artists

While transition was foremost a literary review, it also featured avant-garde visual art beginning with its inaugural issue (April 1927), which included reproductions of paintings by

Lajos Tihanyi Lajos Tihanyi (29 October 1885 – 11 June 1938) was a Hungarian painter and lithographer who achieved international renown working outside his country, primarily in Paris, France. After emigrating in 1919, he never returned to Hungary, even on a ...

, and Pavel Tchelitchew. While the periodical's cover initially bore only textual elements, commencing with the thirteenth issue Jolas began to feature art on the outside of his publication as well–much of it created specifically for ''transition''. In the order of their appearance, the magazine's covers included art by Pablo Picasso, Stuart Davis, Man Ray, Gretchen Powel, Kurt Schwitters, Eli Lotar, Jean Arp,

Sophie Taeuber-Arp Sophie Henriette Gertrud Taeuber-Arp (; 19 January 1889 – 13 January 1943) was a Swiss artist, painter, sculptor, textile designer, furniture and interior designer, architect, and dancer. Born in 1889 in Davos, and raised in Trogen, Switzerlan ...

, Paul Klee, Fernand Léger, Joan Miró, Marcel Duchamp, and

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

. In his essay "Fontierless Decade," in the magazine's final issue, Jolas reflected that “all the new painters, photographers, and sculptors were reproduced n ''transition'' beginning in 1927, when many of them were unknown outside of a small circle on the continent.” While Jolas's program for his magazine was outwardly focused on literature, his comments in his essay "A New Vocabulary" indicate that he considered visual art's inventiveness to be a model for the possibilities of the poetic word. He wrote, “While painting . . . has proceeded to rid itself of the descriptive, done away with classical perspective, has tried more and more to attain a purity of abstract idealism, should the art of the word remain static?” Much of the visual art in ''transition'' belongs to a small number of avant-garde moments that later became a part of the Modernist canon, especially (but not exclusively)

, Surrealism, Cubism, and

Constructivism Constructivism may refer to: Art and architecture * Constructivism (art), an early 20th-century artistic movement that extols art as a practice for social purposes * Constructivist architecture, an architectural movement in Russia in the 1920s a ...

. Other artistic selections, like the reproduction of Marie Monnier's embroidery ''Birth'', in ''transition'' no. 4, highlight Jolas's interest in both new and re-invented means of expression as well as marking the milieu in which he and his co-editors worked and socialized. For instance, Jolas knew Marie Monnier's sister,

Adrienne Monnier Adrienne Monnier (26 April 1892 – 19 June 1955) was a French bookseller, writer, and publisher, and an influential figure in the modernist writing scene in Paris in the 1920s and 1930s. Formative years Monnier was born in Paris on 26 April 18 ...

, proprietor of the bookstore La Maison des Amis des Livres, where Marie's work was exhibited in 1927. Moreover, the writer Léon-Paul Fargue, who Jolas admired and included in his magazine, wrote text the catalog to the 1927 exhibition of Marie Monnier's embroidery. Similarly, Jolas obtained a number of the reproductions of Surrealist paintings and objects that appeared in the magazine's first two years–including work by Yves Tanguy, who was little known at the time–by way of his friend Marcel Noll, who was director of the Galerie Surréaliste until it closed in 1928. ''Transition'', in turn, ran advertisements for the gallery in several issues.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''transition''
Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina. Retrieved October 5, 2005.
''transition'' partial magazine scans (1927-1930 and 1938) at Gallica
1927 establishments in France 1938 disestablishments in France Defunct literary magazines published in Europe Defunct magazines published in France Magazines established in 1927 Magazines disestablished in 1938 Magazines published in Paris Monthly magazines published in France Quarterly magazines published in France