Discipline: Literature

Nicolas Calas

Discipline: Literature
Region: New York, NY
MacDowell Fellowships: 1972
Nicolas Calas (1907–1988) was a Greek-American surrealist poet and art critic. Calas was a major contributor to the diffusion and evolution of the avant-garde, with essays on literature, politics, art, and cinema. An active member of the French surrealist group since 1937, he settled in Paris and published his first collection of essays, encouraged by André Breton. His arrival in New York in 1940 plays an important role in the dissemination of surrealism in the United States. His work was published in Art Forum, Arts Magazine, Art International, and other journals; he also released eight collections of poetry. He was the husband of Elena Calas, whom he married in 1943.