Editing Eugène Ionesco (section)

===Literary context===
Ionesco is often considered a writer of the [[Theatre of the Absurd]], a label originally given to him by [[Martin Esslin]] in his book of the same name. Esslin, placed Ionesco alongside contemporaries [[Samuel Beckett]], [[Jean Genet]], and [[Arthur Adamov]], calling this informal group "absurd" on the basis of [[Albert Camus]]' concept of the absurd. In Esslin's view, Beckett and Ionesco better captured the meaninglessness of existence in their plays than works by Camus or Sartre. Because of this loose association, Ionesco is often mislabeled an existentialist. Ionesco claimed in ''Notes and Counter Notes'' that he was not an existentialist and often criticized existentialist figurehead [[Jean-Paul Sartre]]. Although Ionesco knew Beckett and honored his work, the French group of playwrights was far from an organized movement.

Ionesco on the metaphysics of death in ''Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections on Contemporary French Arts and Culture'' by [[Melinda Camber Porter]]: "Death is our main problem and all others are less important. It is the wall and the limit. It is the only inescapable alienation; it gives us a sense of our limits. But the ignorance of ourselves and of others to which we are condemned is just as worrying. In the final analysis, we don't know what we're doing. Nevertheless, in all my work there is an element of hope and an appeal to others."

Ionesco claimed instead an affinity for [[’Pataphysics]] and its creator [[Alfred Jarry]]. He was also a great admirer of the [[Dadaism|Dadaists]] and [[Surrealism|Surrealists]], especially his fellow countryman [[Tristan Tzara]]. Ionesco became friends with [[André Breton]], whom he revered. In ''Present Past, Past Present'', Ionesco wrote "Breton taught us to destroy the walls of the real that separate us from reality, to participate in being so as to live as if it were the first day of creation, a day that would every day be the first day of new creations."<ref>Ionesco, Eugene. ''Present Past, Past Present''. Trans. Helen R. Lane. Da Capo Press, 1998, 149.</ref> [[Raymond Queneau]], a former associate of Breton and a champion of Ionesco's work, was a member of the [[Collège de ’Pataphysique]] and a founder of [[Oulipo]], two groups with which Ionesco was associated.<ref>Lamon, Rosette C. ''Ionesco's Imperative: The Politics of Culture''. University of Michigan Press, 1993.</ref> Politically, Ionesco expressed sympathy with the left-libertarian [[Transnational Radical Party]] of [[Marco Pannella]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Vecellio |first1=Valter |title=Marco Pannella. Biografia di un irregolare |date=2011 |publisher=Rubbettino Editore |pages=1–10}}</ref>