The Pataphysical Society of New York

It is always a golden era for Pataphysics, and right now is no exception, as usual.

Pataphysics will:
(Examine the laws governing exceptions AND explain the universe supplementary to this one) OR
(Describe a universe which can OR should be envisaged in the place of the traditional one).

Pataphysicians have a proclivity for colorful language.

FIRST PUBLICATION IN ENGLISH The Pope’s Mustard-Maker (Le Moutardier du pape) was the last work that Alfred Jarry finished, a few months before his death in 1907. It is a bawdy three-act farce loosely based on the medieval leg…

If recent pontifical proceedings have you yearning for more papal content, consider this English translation of Jarry's "Moutardier du Pape" (The Pope's Mustard Maker) published by Black Scat Books in 2019: blackscatbooks.com/2019/08/10/f...

For more on collecting Jarry memorabilia, see this essay (in French) by Linda K. Stillman, whose immense collection is now at the Morgan Library in NYC. Pages 327 to 341. alfredjarry.fr/amisjarry/fi...

An original performance ticket and program from the 1896 premiere of Ubu Roi sold at auction today outside Paris. Hammer price: €3340. The extremely rare ephemera came from the collection of historian and critic Victor Perrot. Congratulations to the lucky collector!

Saddened to hear of David Thomas’s death last week. His scathing, jubilant, irascible sound will live forever.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVTt...

Unrelated, here’s a concert lineup featuring Pere Ubu and the current president of the London Institute of Pataphysics.

A welcome primer, in English, on an important symbol of pataphysics. We'd only note that the symbol isn't *official* in any way, as written. De facto, perhaps, but there can, of course, be nothing official in pataphysics (perhaps to the chagrin of the College). www.patakosmos.com/what-is-a-gi...

“Fear Visits Love” is featured in Crease by Domino Books (2024), an art comic anthology edited by Austin English. Here Jarry – and Rachilde! – are deliciously illustrated by @cccilla.bsky.social. www.dominobooks.org/crease.html

To celebrate National Poetry Month, we offer this new translation of Alfred Jarry’s "The Man with The Axe," alongside the painting that inspired it.

How tall was Dr. Faustroll? Jarry says "medium height," but the classic equation, given in terms of atomic diameters, says otherwise. Multiplying even the smallest atom's diameter (hydrogen at .1 nm) by the 81,405,000,000 from Jarry's equation results in 8.1 meters or 26.7 feet in height!

My Works, Ye Mighty - Athabasca University Press My Works, Ye Mighty expands upon the conceptual literature of Christian Bök, particularly his ongoing project, entitled The Xenotext. Based upon work conducted during his tenure as the Writer-in-Resid...

Not surprised that the inimitable Christian Bök has found a clever nondeterministic way to supersede the already pataphysical tradition of publishing in limited, numbered, and now stochastic and nondeterministic editions. Looking forward to receiving our copy. www.aupress.ca/books/120337...

A numerical evaluation of the Finite Monkeys Theorem The Infinite Monkeys Theorem has long-established the eventual certainty of the complete works of William Shakespeare being reproduced by a monkey ran…

Link to Woodcock and Falletta: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Willy vs. Jimmy: Which Typing Monkey gets all the Bananas? The typing monkeys scenario postulates that, given enough time, the works of William Shakespeare could be produced as the result of a random process acting on a typewriter. The original scenario relie...

Link to Hennessy: www.academia.edu/68336468/Wil...

The team was able to identify and catalog an astounding number of nonwords — 8,352,712,501 — and analyze them using various techniques.

4. We explored these more compelling aspects in our study of nonwords last year, including analysis of the Bible, War and Peace, and Moby Dick. Perhaps a remedial update including Shakespeare is overdue. patanyc.org/nonwords

3. The interesting part is the cognitive recognition threshold where meaning emerges, rather than at the opposite end, where it begins to decay. Hennessy’s information theory approach outlines how complexity and entropy in language intersect to create meaning. monkeys.zip brings the idea to life.

2. The monkeys don’t need to achieve perfection. A rsoe by any ohter nmae would smell as stwee. For a single sonnet, with high error tolerance and semantic equivalence, the probability of success improves by over 200 orders of magnitude compared to the paper’s undue constraints.

1. Finite constraints like "heat death of universe" miss the entire point. Pataphysics explores what's possible in the supplemental universe, not what's probable in the ephemeral.

Disappointing to see in the latest issue of "Speculations" the CdP report enthusiastically about the Woodcock and Falletta “Finite Monkeys Theorem” variant of the classic thought experiment. The original monkey theorem specifically invokes INFINITY.

Yes, it’s safe to say this is merdre, though arguably not all unchi is merdre. It's nevertheless clear that merdre predeceedeth all and will proceedeth past oblivion.

The origins of the poop emoji are typically traced back to the “Dr. Slump” manga series of 1980 to 1984, but this cover of a 1977 translation of Ubu Roi suggests the “unchi” has a deeper, more pataphysical history in Japanese culture. Perhaps we haven’t been looking in all the right pelvises. 💩

Available in print or as a free e-book: uplopen.com/reader/books...

French Technological Thought and the Nonhuman Turn French Technological Thought and the Nonhuman Turn

More new scholarship: This recent book includes a chapter on Bergson & Jarry: edinburghuniversitypress.com/book-french-.... With such a profusion of critical studies in English, it is indeed a convenient time to be a pataphysician. Our Anglophone forebears had it much worse!

Related quote of Ubu's: "Like an egg, a pumpkin, or a flashing meteor, I roll upon this earth where I shall do as I please."

To clarify for the many who were confused: the woodcut is indeed from "Les Minutes de Sable Memorial" which contained the prologal act of Caesar Antichrist. The image on the right is a phenomenon observed this past Monday by denizens of eastern Europe, caused by a commercial rocket launch.

"For I am neither stationary nor static, but dynamic, like unto the dragon which, with its tail, drags down a third part of the stars, I make fall in my wake all that is worthy of my purple...." - From Jarry's Caesar Antichrist

Fans of #Severance may have savored the many images and themes from pataphysical texts throughout the show. For example: the balloon heads of the opening credits, recalling a leitmotif in Days and Nights. Literature always knows us before we know ourselves.

For individual back issues to fill gaps in your collection, we highly recommend Novum Organum, a rebel offshoot of the official CdP, operated by the great Remy Bellenger, who also runs L'Hexaèdre, press. Treasures await. www.college-de-pataphysique.org

Collectors, bibliophiles, and pataphysicians take note: several full sets of the Cahiers du Collège de 'Pataphysique (and other notable journal series) are currently available on major used book platforms. The photos alone are enough to make one's heart skip a beat.
www.abebooks.com/servlet/Sear...

“Mammamouchi: apogrousalabos triphocaran tatalababa colocopicsone zoufzouf laptapoum bottocu pampam.” - October 1895 review / parody of Jarry's Caesar Antichrist in La jeune Belgique.