Irene's Cunt (Le Con d'Irène)
Encyclopedia
Irene's Cunt is a short erotic novel
written by French poet and novelist Louis Aragon
under the pseudonym Albert de Routisie, first published in 1928. Its title is rendered in English variously as Irene or Irene's Cunt. Jean-Jacques Pauvert
has called the novel "one of the four or five most beautiful poetic works produced by surrealism
".
The novel details the life of a man through his adulthood to old age. The latter half of the text concerns his inner thoughts after he has lost his ability to speak and move due to syphilis.
The first edition was illustrated with etchings by André Masson
which were aesthetically very similar to those of Georges Bataille
's Story of the Eye. Régine Deforges republished it in 1968 under the title Irène which did not prevent its seizure as pornography.
American novelist William T. Vollmann
has cited Irene's Cunt as an influence for his novel The Royal Family. It was adapted for a choreographic work Pas de panique by Toméo Vergès in 1999.
Erotic literature
Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals...
written by French poet and novelist Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon
Louis Aragon , was a French poet, novelist and editor, a long-time member of the Communist Party and a member of the Académie Goncourt.- Early life :...
under the pseudonym Albert de Routisie, first published in 1928. Its title is rendered in English variously as Irene or Irene's Cunt. Jean-Jacques Pauvert
Jean-Jacques Pauvert
Jean-Jacques Pauvert is a French publisher, notable for publishing the work of the Marquis de Sade in the early 1950s and as the first publisher of the Story of O and the first edition of Kenneth Anger's Hollywood Babylone .-External links:...
has called the novel "one of the four or five most beautiful poetic works produced by surrealism
Surrealism
Surrealism is a cultural movement that began in the early 1920s, and is best known for the visual artworks and writings of the group members....
".
The novel details the life of a man through his adulthood to old age. The latter half of the text concerns his inner thoughts after he has lost his ability to speak and move due to syphilis.
The first edition was illustrated with etchings by André Masson
André Masson
André-Aimé-René Masson was a French artist.-Biography:Masson was born in Balagny-sur-Thérain, Oise, but was brought up in Belgium. He began his study of art at the age of eleven in Brussels, at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts under the guidance of Constant Montald, and later he studied in Paris...
which were aesthetically very similar to those of Georges Bataille
Georges Bataille
Georges Bataille was a French writer. His multifaceted work is linked to the domains of literature, anthropology, philosophy, economy, sociology and history of art...
's Story of the Eye. Régine Deforges republished it in 1968 under the title Irène which did not prevent its seizure as pornography.
American novelist William T. Vollmann
William T. Vollmann
William Tanner Vollmann is an American novelist, journalist, short story writer, essayist and winner of the National Book Award...
has cited Irene's Cunt as an influence for his novel The Royal Family. It was adapted for a choreographic work Pas de panique by Toméo Vergès in 1999.