ARTAUD Antonin. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO RAYMOND QUENEAU. - Lot 10

ARTAUD Antonin. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED TO RAYMOND QUENEAU. Rodez, January 16, 1945: 2 pp. in-4 (250 x 210 mm) in pencil. Unpublished letter written from the Rodez asylum where the poet was interned between 1943 and 1946 in the ward of Dr. Gaston Ferdière. A remarkable testimony to Artaud's situation of loneliness and abandonment at the end of the war, after more than seven years in captivity, and his desire to "reconnect with [his] old life." "My dear friend, I've had no news from you since January 1, 1944, when you were supposed to come and see me here in Rodez and when, it seems, you fell ill. Have you not written since? I may well have. But the letter must have got lost, because I haven't received anything from you since. And I'd also like to have heard from Janine and your child. I cover notepads and notebooks with notes, and from time to time I write a poem or a text. But Mr. Gaston Ferdière, who recently went to Paris, told me he'd seen a 3,000-copy reprint of Le théâtRe et son double. I barely received 1 or 2 copies of this book when it was first published in 1938, and I wasn't able to give any to my close relatives or friends at the time. If you could arrange for a dozen copies to be sent to me now that the book has been reissued, you would be doing me a great service. Can I count on you for this? My sister has promised to come and see me, and she's coming with some friends. And indeed, in the two years I've been in Rodez, I've never had a visit from anyone. And it will certainly be a change for me to get back in touch with my old life. So I hope, my dear Raymond Queneau, that I won't have to wait much longer without seeing you and your family, and in that expectation believe in my affectionate and devoted feelings of friendship. Until then, I hope to see you both again. Antonin Artaud 1, rue Vieussens Rodez Aveyron ".