In a short and legendary life, Alfred Jarry (1873-1907) created a unique and large body of work that included plays, novels, poetry, journalism and other less definable speculations and texts. His writings form the essential bridge between the European avant-garde of the 1890s (symbolism) and those of the Twentieth century (Surrealism, Dada, Futurism).
This first volume presents his first two books, Black Minutes of Memorial Sand and Caesar-Antichrist, two apocalyptic Symbolist texts which already signal their self-destruction through the presence of Ubu.
A series of essays follows: aesthetic (Time in Art), philosophical (To Be and To Live), political (Visions of the Present and Future), and concludes with his famous treatise on how to actually construct a time machine (convincing enough to be taken seriously by contemporary scientists). Jarry's own selection of his speculative journalism completes the volume.