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On Michel Leiris and The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat

Join Bruce Hainley, Wayne Koestenbaum and Christine Pichini for a conversation on Michel Leiris’s The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat published by Semiotext[e], and translated from the French by Pichini.

Written in 1981, toward the end of Leiris’s life, The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat serves as a coda to his autobiographical masterwork, The Rules of the Game, taking the form of both shorter fragments (poems, memory scraps, notes) that are as formally disarming as the fetishistic experiences they describe, and longer essays, more exhaustive critical meditations on writing, apprehension, and the nature of the modern. Rooted in remembrance, devoted to the kaleidoscopic intricacies of wordplay, Leiris draws from his own aesthetic experiences as writer and spectator to explore the fetish that “exposes and disarms the sinister passage of time,” conferring “an undeniable realness upon the whole by essentially causing it to crystallize in a reality it would never have possessed if that sturdy fragment hadn’t acted as bait.”

“A necessary and enlightening sequel to Leiris’s earlier extended explorations of his mind and heart, of writing, life, and art, The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat allows us to continue in his stimulating company as he poses questions in all frankness and humility that are as fresh and personal, even politically timely, today as when he wrote them. This long overdue, fine translation by Christine Pichini recreates with grace and ease Leiris’s often labyrinthine sentences—no less complex than the thoughts they express. A pleasure to read.” — Lydia Davis, author of  Can’t and Won’t  and translator of Leiris’s Rules of the Game, Volumes 1–3

In English. Free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary.











When: Thu., Nov. 21, 2019 at 6:30 pm
Where: Albertine
972 Fifth Ave.
332-228-2238
Price: Free
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Join Bruce Hainley, Wayne Koestenbaum and Christine Pichini for a conversation on Michel Leiris’s The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat published by Semiotext[e], and translated from the French by Pichini.

Written in 1981, toward the end of Leiris’s life, The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat serves as a coda to his autobiographical masterwork, The Rules of the Game, taking the form of both shorter fragments (poems, memory scraps, notes) that are as formally disarming as the fetishistic experiences they describe, and longer essays, more exhaustive critical meditations on writing, apprehension, and the nature of the modern. Rooted in remembrance, devoted to the kaleidoscopic intricacies of wordplay, Leiris draws from his own aesthetic experiences as writer and spectator to explore the fetish that “exposes and disarms the sinister passage of time,” conferring “an undeniable realness upon the whole by essentially causing it to crystallize in a reality it would never have possessed if that sturdy fragment hadn’t acted as bait.”

“A necessary and enlightening sequel to Leiris’s earlier extended explorations of his mind and heart, of writing, life, and art, The Ribbon at Olympia’s Throat allows us to continue in his stimulating company as he poses questions in all frankness and humility that are as fresh and personal, even politically timely, today as when he wrote them. This long overdue, fine translation by Christine Pichini recreates with grace and ease Leiris’s often labyrinthine sentences—no less complex than the thoughts they express. A pleasure to read.” — Lydia Davis, author of  Can’t and Won’t  and translator of Leiris’s Rules of the Game, Volumes 1–3

In English. Free and open to the public. No RSVP necessary.

Buy tickets/get more info now