Pon was born of an egg, then he was born of a codfish and while being born made it explode, then he was born of a shoe through bipartition Michaux acquired a cult reputation during the 60s for his accounts of his mescaline experiences, but his mind is quite interesting enough off drugs, and some of these unclassifiable works are little masterpieces of the surreal.The Belgian-born French poet and writer Henri Michaux began to draw and paint in 1927, when he was 28. It whimpers, is covered with sores, needs a clamp to hold its loose skin tight. In these short stories, surreal situations are treated with a painstaking sobriety terror and hilarity are both close at hand.ĭarkness Moves: An Henri Michaux Anthology, 1927≡984 by Henri Michaux (University of California Press, $25). My Horse and Other Stories by Stacey Levine (Sun & Moon Press, $12). One day the nihilist held forth at the lily slump The robust and playful lyricism of the childrens book meets the high abstractions of philosophy to amazing effect. This novel collages fragments of Carl Sandburgs Rootabaga Stories with the writings of Jean-Paul Sartre.

The Words After Carl Sandburgs Rootabaga Stories and Jean-Paul Sartre by Carla Harryman (Tumba Press, $12). It was originally written in Spanish pity and wonder are due the translator! The book is a baroque barrage of prose, poetry, diagrams, equations, and stage dialogue. This outrageousness concerns the transsexual Madam (diva in the Lyrical Theater of Dolls), her dwarf double, and their attempts at metamorphosis. Why does the powerful Bunce have it in for him?Ĭobra by Severo Sarduy (Dalkey Archive Press, $14). This novel (there is a story here, somewhere, though its told in visionary snippets) concerns Moldenke, who has four hearts (implants) and is occasionally menaced by jellyheads, who look like humans but have nothing but goo between their ears. There was a man who had too many mustaches. We bought an electric monkey. ∺ woman was fighting a tree. If the head could be converted into a sort of shack for animals Edson proposes an absurdity, unpacks its logical consequences, then leaps right into the sublime.

The Tunnel: Selected Poems by Russell Edson (Field Translations Series, $17). Here she lists six underappreciated books from the what is it? categoryher favorite. Shelley Jacksons most recent novel, The Melancholy of Anatomy (Anchor Books, $12), was published in April.

Selected Writings by Henri Michaux