Artaud Anthology

Jul 6, 2026

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Artaud Anthology gathers selected writings by Antonin Artaud, edited by Jack Hirschman and published by City Lights Books in 1965. The contents are organized into two main historical parts spanning 1924–1937 and 1943–1948, including correspondence, poems, letters, fragments, and prose texts. The book also includes “Photographs and Drawings” and an Artaud bibliography. Editorial notes explain sources for translations, how poems are grouped, and where original titles are located when variant headings are used.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages258

Reading Time6 h 37 min

Artaud Chronology

PART I: 1924-1937

Artaud-Riviere Correspondence

Fragments of a Journal in Hell

Address to the Dalai Lama

Concerning a Journey to the Land of the Tarahumaras

The New Revelations of Being

PART II: 1943-1948

Revolt Against Poetry

To Adolph Hitler

Theatre and Science

The Patients and the Doctors

Artaud Bibliography

Editor's Notes

ARTAUD ANTHOLOGY Antonin Artaud ANTHOLOGY Edited by Jack Hirschman City Lights Books San Francisco © 1965 by City Lights Books Published by special arrangement with Editions Gallimard, Paris, publishers of Antonin Artaud, Oeuvres Completes © 1956, 1961 Editions Gallimard Cover photograph: Antonin Artaud by Man Ray, 1926 LC\# 65-12730 ISBN: 0-87286-000-0 City Lights Books are available to bookstores through our primary distributor Subterranean Company, P.O. Box 10233, Eugene, OR 97440. [503] 343-6324. Our books are also available through library jobbers and regional distributors. For personal orders and catalogs, please write to City Lights Books, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco CA 94133. CITY LIGHTS BOOKS are edited by Lawrence Ferlinghetti & Nancy J. Peters and published at the City Lights Bookstore, 261 Columbus Avenue, San Francisco, California 94133. Contents Artaud Chronology .. 6 PART I: 1924-1937 Artaud-Riviere Correspondence 7 Here where others ... 26 A great fervor ..... 27 Doctor ..... 27 Description of a Physical State 28 Thin belly ... 29 There's an anguish ... 31 I really felt ... 32 An actor you can see ... 33 Here is someone ... 36 All writing is pigshit ... 38 Fragments of a Journal in Hell 40 Who, in the heart ... 48 Transparent Abelard 52 In the light of the evidence ... 55 On Suicide 56 Situation of the Flesh 58 Inquest: Is Suicide a Solution? 60 General Security: The Liquidation of Opium .. 61 Address to the Dalai Lama 64 No theogony ... 65 It is the act which shapes the thought ... 61 Concerning a Journey to the Land of the Tarahumaras 69 The New Revelations of Being .. 84 Photographs and Drawings . . facing page 104 PART 11: 1943-1948 Revolt Against Poetry 100 To Adolph Hitler . . lOS Shit to the Spirit 106 Letter Against the Kabbala 113 Letter On Lautreamont 123 Coleridge the Traitor 128 Van Gogh: The Man Suicided by Society 13 S Letter to Pierre Loeb 164 Theatre and Science 169 Fragmentations 174 The Tale of the Popocatepel 181 Electroshock [Fragments] . . 183 The Patients and the Doctors 191 Blood-Winches [Reality] 193 Dear Doctor and Friend .. 196 Here where I stand ... 201 Seven Poems [Fragments] . . 208 Workman's Hand and Monkey Hand 21 1 You have to begin with a will to live ... 215 It happens that one day ... 218 The mistake is in the fact .. 220 I hate and renounce as a coward ... 222 There's an old story .. 227 The Human Face .. 229 The Indian Culture .. 234 Here Lies 238 Artaud Bibliography 251 Editor's Notes 􀀖1- Credits Al but four of the texts in Part I of the Anthology were translated from the first volume of Gallimard's collected works of Artaud. 'No Theogony ' and 'It is the act which shapes the thought . .. ' were taken from the Life and Death of the Devil Fire. The 'Journey to the Land of the Tarahumaras and the New Revelations of Being were translated from the small editions in which they originally appeared. In the case of the former, I have followed Artaud's advice on the use of his letter to Henri Parisot as 'Supplement ' to the 'Journey, though it should be noted that the 'Journey itself was written a decade earlier. All the texts in Part U were translated from small editions, :reviews and journals. I have taken the liberty of combining some of the poems under single headings. Thus the section entitled ' Electroshock ' (my own heading) is composed of a group of individual poems and prose fragments. Similarly, I have preferred to leave Kenneth Rexroth's translations of the ' Seven Poems ' in the order in which they were originally published in English, noting here, however, that the poems are individual pieces composed by Artaud at different periods during the last years of his life. All titles are noted in the bibliography which doses the Anthology. Where a title cannot be found (as in 'Electroshock ' or 'Seven Poems ') the originals

FAQs

How is the anthology structured across Artaud’s lifetime?

The anthology is divided into Part I (1924–1937) and Part II (1943–1948), with an Artaud chronology and additional sections such as photographs and drawings.

What kinds of texts are included in the anthology?

It includes correspondence, poems (including fragments), letters, prose fragments, and major standalone pieces such as discussions and questions around suicide and spiritual or philosophical themes.

How does the editor handle translations and multiple originals?

The editor’s notes explain that many texts come from Gallimard collected works or from small editions, reviews, and journals. When titles are not found under a given heading, the originals are located under other bibliographic headings.

Jul 6, 2026

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