Salvador Dal 's (1904-89) surrealist paintings such as The Persistence of Memory and The Metamorphosis of Narcissus are internationally beloved for their unforgettable images and eccentric metaphors for the human condition. His lesser-known but equally intriguing writings, on the other hand, are remarkably coarse, describing human bodies and evocations of sexuality with a bewildering mixture of crude realism and na ve simplicity. Dal...