French critic and novelist Simone de Beauvoir reinvented the feminist debate with her shocking text, "The Second Sex" (1953), which has become a theoretical bible for those interested in Existentialist and Marxist analysis of women's societal subservience. Since the arrival of Postmodernism at the ce

Existentialist literature, Existentialist theory, Feminism, Feminist, Pioneering, Smart, Social revolution, Women's literature

His artistic avocations were many -- poet, novelist, painter, playwright, set designer, actor -- but Jean Cocteau's work as a filmmaker distilled his creative vision with a special lucidity. In film he could bring his Surrealist language and imagery together, making the dreamlike palpable and present

Existentialist literature, Horror, Surreal, Surrealist film, Surrealist literature, Surrealist photography, Trippy

Classical, Epic theater, Existentialist literature, Expressionist theater, Neurotic, Political, Sardonic

Paul Bowles' novels are often set in Northern Africa where he settled with his wife, Jane, in the late 1940s. They investigate the sometimes tragic consequences of dislocation from one's own cultural context; in "The Sheltering Sky", for example, a husband/wife/friend trio set out on a journey throug

Existentialist literature, Hallucinatory, Rebel, Self-reflection