The Novel of the Tupinamba Indian - Paperback

by E. F. Granell (Author), David Coulter (Translator)

Written by Galician surrealist artist and revolutionary E.F. Granell, The Novel of the Tupinamba Indian is a picaresque, Cervantes-influenced allegory of the Spanish Civil War. Set against a cruel landscape peopled by generals, priests, conquistadors, poets, witches, and nuns, Tupinamba Indian embodies Granell's wartime experiences while transforming them through his lush and incendiary surrealist imagination.

Praise for The Novel of the Tupinamba Indian:

"In an ever-shifting world populated by nameless, iconic stock figures, the Tupinamba Indian (whose head, slashed off by a conquistador, remains detachable/attachable in a brilliant metaphor for colonialism) wanders, stumbles, and thrives in a war landscape where time and space morph. ... A war novel, a political allegory not only of the late '30s but also our current political moment ..."--Gillian Conoley

"Granell's Tupinamba Indian magnificently registers the author's experience with the didactic inferno of war and his ability to imaginatively ascend above it."--Will Alexander

"An exceptional sense of humor filters through [Granell's] war experience, fleecing expectations and convictions, and freeing him to levitate this personal and collective history into a madcap romp through a violated landscape. Where tragedy emerges with the Fascist victory, prologue to World War Two, laughter curdles its edges then burns it up. ... No group is sacrosanct, no one beyond reproach, priests, intellectuals, and leader (aka Franco, our 'tiny Grand Turk'), included."--Allan Graubard, co-editor of Invisible Heads: Surrealists in North America - An Untold Story

Artist, writer, musician, socialist, professor, and veteran of the Spanish Civil War, Eugenio F. Granell (1912-2001) was one of the leading figures of the post-World War II international surrealist movement.

Translator David Coulter is an artist who currently divides his time between Berkeley, CA and Coimbra, Portugal, where he particpates with the Cabo Mondego Section of Portuguese Surrealism.

Author Biography

Artist, musician, socialist, veteran of the Spanish Civil War, writer, and professor, Eugenio F. Granell (1912-2001) was one of the leading figures of the post-World War II international surrealist movement. He formed close friendships with such figures as Marcel Duchamp, André Breton, Wifredo Lam, Benjamin Péret, Toyen, and the revolutionary writer Victor Serge. Upon the defeat of the Republican government in 1939, Granell was exiled from Spain for 46 years, living in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Puerto Rico and New York City where he resided from 1957-1985. Beginning with his participation in the exhibition Surrealism in 1947 (Galerie Maeght, Paris), curated by Duchamp and Breton, Granell participated in every exhibition mounted by the Paris group. He is the author of two novels, short stories, and the poetic treatise Isla Cofre Mítico, among others. Returning to Spain in 1986 Granell exhibited throughout Spain, Portugal, and Europe. In 1995 the Fundación Granell was established in Santiago de Compostela, dedicated to the study of surrealism, mounting exhibitions and performances as well as providing library and archives for research.

David Coulter is an educator, artist, and translator. He has participated in surrealist exhibitions such as Harvest of Evil (Ti Rojo Studio, Columbus, OH 1983); Magnets of the Polar Horn (San Francisco, CA 1984); The Secret Face of Scandal -- Group Hydra (New York City 1986); Voyage to Arcturus (Estremoz, Portugal 2007); The Reverse of the Look (Coimbra, Portugal 2008); Men Are Machines for Making Apples (Guimarães, Portugal); Optic Ocultations (Beyond Baroque, Venice, CA 2015); and most recently At the Light of a Glazed Castle (Figueira da Foz, Portugal 2016). His work has appeared in Le Vertebre et le Rossignol (Montreal, Canada 2015 and 2016); Spectra (Los Angeles, CA 2016); The Annual (New York City 2015); A Phala 3 (São Paulo, Brasil 2015); and What Will Be -- Almanac of the International Surrealist Movement (2014). He is the illustrator of the novella Targets (Anon Editions 2013) by Allan Graubard. His work is included in the anthology Invisible Heads: Surrealists in North America -- An Untold Story (Anon Editions 2011). In the 1980s he was the co-director/publisher of MDS Editions. He currently divides his time between Berkeley, CA and Coimbra, Portugal where he participates with the Cabo Mondego Section of Portuguese Surrealism.