On Dali, by Simon J. Ward

Salvador Dali and Gala Dali, photograph by Cecil Beaton (UK), 1936.

On Dali

“I myself am surrealism”, he says as the tips of his moustache touch together. The echo inside his diving suit made it difficult to make out his words. His cane, by itself in the corner, diverts traffic.  Breton is frowning, hoping this Catalan will not paint the two of them. Puffing on his pipe, deconstructed as no longer a pipe but an image of a pipe, Breton contemplates the compromised position of surrealism. It all comes down to politics, and Dali follows Dalism. He says, “My obsession with Hitler is aesthetic fancy. Look at him there with his braces, saluting swastikas.” He says, “Look at the curve of his back.” Orwell stands across from Breton, his middle-class nose turned up in disgust. The two of them lower their heads and point their curved backs towards the man who stands with his cane and his waistcoat and his ocelot, making faces. 

​Simon J. Ward

Simon J Ward is a writer of poetry and short stories. He teaches composition, literature, and creative writing at Anne Arundel Community College, and also works as a Sous Chef in Baltimore. His poetry has appeared in literary magazines in both the US and the UK, and his prose is upcoming in Workers Write! He obtained a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Glasgow in 2012, and is the founding editor of the Glasgow-based literary anthology ClockWorks.