Who am I?
Where do I come from?
I am Antonin Artaud
and if I say it
as I know how to say it
immediately
you will see my present body
fly into pieces
and under ten thousand
notorious aspects
a new body
will be assembled
in which you will never again
be able
to forget me.
Portrait of Arthur Adamov, 1947, from Collection Florence Loeb; © 1996 Estate of Antonin Artaud/Artists Rights Society, N.Y.; photograph of artwork © 1996 The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y. Spell for Léon Fouks, 1939, from a private collection; ©1996 Estate of Antonin Artaud/Artists Rights Society, N.Y.; photograph of artwork © 1996 The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y. Self-portrait, 1946, from Collection Florence Loeb; © 1996 Estate of Antonin Artaud/Artists Rights Society, N.Y.; photograph of artwork © 1996 The Museum of Modern Art, N.Y.