…to love this book.
Tag: absurdist texts & documents
A Bishop is Reassured . . .
A Bishop is Reassured Regarding his Loose Teeth
An old bishop, whom I knew, complained that he had already lost a number of his teeth, and that others were shaking so badly that he feared to lose these also.
At this a man of his district said: “Have no fear that you will lose your teeth.”
“Why not?” the bishop asked curiously.
“Well, my testicles have been hanging loose for the last forty years seeming always on the point of falling off, yet I have never lost them.”
from
The Facetiae Erotica of Poggio
by Poggio Bracciolini
Illustrations by Jana Vukovic
Coming in July in a Black Scat Classic Interim Edition
Insane Writers at Work
Stars and Stripes Forever!
Strike up the band . . . stand and salute . . . a new book by experimental writer and critic Richard Kostelanetz has just rolled off the press in all its patriotic splendor. The Works & Life of Kosty Richards: An American Career will be an inspiration to every red-blooded American—especially those who aspire to the heights of literary celebrity.
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CLICK HERE to order a copy of this limited edition.
May Allais
Doug Skinner has shared some delicious Alphonse Allais tidbits—including a very rare photo of the master at his desk—over on the Ullage Group blog.
Meanwhile, volume three of Mr. Skinner’s translation of Allais’s Captain Cap is in the works.
For those interested in collecting the entire 4-volume set, copies of the first two are still available.
Captain Cap (Vol. I): Captain Cap Before the Electorate
Captain Cap (Vol. II): The Apparent Symbiosis Between the Boa and Giraffe
There will be no June Gloom here…
Get out your markers and circle June 1st. That’s publication day for How I Became an Idiot by Francisque Sarcey. Sarcey (1827-1899) was an esteemed French drama critic and the butt of derision at the cabaret Le Chat noir. He reviewed the premiere of Alfred Jarry‘s Ubu Roi with this visionary verdict: “…a filthy fraud which deserves nothing but the silence of contempt.”
Yes, he was a visionary idiot.
BUT WAIT, THERE’S IRONY.
In the good hands of Alphonse Allais, Sarcey became an Ubuesque piñata for the avant-garde artists and writers of Montmartre. The absurdist master wrote a series of wicked columns for the newspaper Le Chat noir under the name Francisque Sarcey and, as you might imagine, merdre hit the fan. Pies and fists were flying and high society was aghast.
Be prepared for some nasty laughs in How I Became an Idiot. Never before in English, this rare collection has been translated from the French by the great Doug Skinner and is being issued in an extremely limited edition of 60 copies.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: THIS TITLE IS OUT OF PRINT
Read more about forthcoming Interim Editions on the Bookends page here.
Captain Cap Sails Again!
Climb aboard and pop your corks, Captain Cap (Vol II) sets sail today!
We recognize the inherent risks of launching a book on the first day of April, yet we’ve decided to push ahead—(or should we say shove off?)—since it’s entirely appropriate when the author is Alphonse Allais, the great French innovative humorist. Moreover, on this very day in 1897, Paul Ollendorff christened Allais’s Album primo-avrilesque (April Foolish Album)—a portfolio featuring seven monochromatic paintings which anticipated abstract art. Sadly, the album has gone unnoticed by so-called “art historians,” but we’ll leave that fight for another day.
Presently, this second volume—(two more to follow!)—gets down to the nitty-gritty, i.e., Allais’s legendary stories peppered with bizarre inventions, tall tales, philandering, and—oh yes—frequent liquid refreshments. Come to think of it, the phrase “traveling the high seas” may well have been coined in honor of the good captain’s bar-hopping.
Now’s your chance to discover a whole world of exotic trivia, such as…
- THE SECRET BEHIND MEAT-LAND
- UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT GIRAFFES
- HOW TO PAY ONE’S AMOROUS DEBTS
- EXPERIMENTS IN HYPNOTISM
- NAME THAT ORANGUTAN
- INTERSTELLAR COMMUNICATIONS
- HOW TO RECYCLE CONFETTI
And much, much more.
The Apparent Symbiosis Between the Boa and Giraffe has been painstakingly translated by the versatile Doug Skinner. who has illustrated the book with 17 original drawings done in true Allaisian spirit. He also provides an enlightening introduction and extensive notes containing historical tidbits that bring La Belle Époque alive.
At over 100 pages, this collectible edition marks a watershed moment for the Absurdist Texts & Documents series, and is one of several reasons why the word “chapbook” should be thrown overboard.
So don’t miss out on this gala voyage. Click here and order a copy.
We wish you all a happy April Fool’s! (And that’s no joke.)
Dinner is served!
Fresh from the oven comes HOT HEART OF BOAR—piping hot and throbbing—in a limited edition of 125 copies. The collection features rare, unpublished texts, including an excerpt from The Hunters of Karinhall—a bloody brilliant uproduced screenplay (emphasis on “bloody”). There’s also a private letter to William Burroughs; a vomiting priest; “K.Y. Madness,” and more. In addition to the author’s culinary delights, you’ll find illuminating introductory notes by Nile Southern, as well as tastefully explicit illustrations by Norman Conquest.
In short, it’s is a full-boar feast for famished fans of black humor.
Southern Discomfort…
A yummy treat (for those with strong stomachs) is coming soon in our Absurdist Texts & Documents series…a new collection of strange “tastes” from the late master chef Terry Southern:
HOT HEART OF BOAR & Other Tastes
We’ll be serving it fresh—piping hot and throbbing—in a limited edition of only 125 copies. First come, first served.
The book features rare unpublished texts, including an excerpt from The Hunters of Karinhall—a screenplay that, sadly, was never filmed. It’s a bloody masterpiece, and we do mean bloody. There’s also a private letter to William Burroughs; a vomiting priest; “K.Y. Madness,” and more.
In addition to the author’s culinary delights, you’ll find illuminating introductory notes by Nile Southern, as well as tastefully explicit illustrations by Norman Conquest.
In short, it’s a full-boar feast for famished fans of black humor.
Prepare to dig in.
Tzara in London
Considerations on the Death and Burial of Tristan Tzara by Isidore Isou, (translated by Doug Skinner) was on display recently in London at an exhibition of DADA, LETTRISM, FLUXUS, FUTURISM, SOUND & CONCRETE POETRY, curated by Frédéric Acquaviva. Alas, we were not there for the festivities, but hear that the book was quite popular with attendees.
There are only a few copies remaining in Scat’s limited edition, so if you haven’t nabbed one … now’s the time. CLICK HERE
photos courtesy of Frédéric Acquaviva
