In part two of Wakefield Press releases, we have two integral releases for the Wakefield canon, must reads for any readers. These continue with a commitment to quality translations of works that dig deep into the world(s) around us. Books that are enmeshed in a blend of science fiction, technology, philosophy and wonder, the next two books are purely works of art, with an ability to be dissected and analyzed. Wonderful books, that deserve a large reading populace.

Lesabendio: An Asteroid Novel by Paul Scheerbart

Published in German in 1913, Scheerbart's considered masterpiece finally can include English readers, as Wakefield provides us with another top notch translation and of another Scheerbart work. With a recommendation by theorist Walter Benjamin who received a copy on his wedding from Gershom Sholem, and with an influence that went way beyond the scope of literature, Scheerbart's cosmic utopian novel describes life on planetoid/asteroid/star Pallas, cue Tangerine Dream music while reading book. Written pre-WWI, as Scheerbart would die from starvation in 1915, this book is able to remain unconcerned with the stark reality of war, and the protest against barbarism. Instead Scheerbart dwells on the philosophical-sci-fi meandering on the creation and differences of society, where rubbery, suction cup like life forms are continually building their society in efficient manners, hey much like people on earth.

With brief chapter previews we get the subplot of what is ultimately the yearning of one man's vision to do the unthinkable, and the fusing between a society based on art and a society that has a foundation in technological advancement. It would be interesting to see how writers and thinkers like Scheerbart, or Benjamin would react and respond to their works and the ideas and thoughts put forth. Would the innovations in architecture, and would a society of rapid advancement be behind the philosophical musings of Scheerbart.

With that said, the book is an electrifying read and I am happy to be living in a time when it was translated for non German speaking people. With a story comprised of alien, at least to us Earthlings, creatures named Pallasians, of which we are introduced to the luminaries of this society, Lesabendio, Biba, Dex, Nax and Labu, who want to take society and their ideas in different ways. Some through art, some through advancing our knowledge through technology, as in Lesabendio, who dominates the story. Throughout we travel to other worlds, take in the advice of others. From start to finish, we are brought to a world that is so radically different from ours, yet so eerily similar.

The Pallasians have an exhausting life of moving forward and are constantly facing exhaustion as such, thus Pallasians die. In order to die a Pallasian goes up to another and asks if they will receive them, at acceptance the living Pallasian will open up their mouths very wide and "take in" their dying citizen. Towards the end Lesa takes in two different Pallasians, and gains some of their strength and knowledge. In doing this, Scheerbart shows you gain some aspects of the person you swallow up, and in this way even in death you live on. In addition to that meaning, the collusion of the ideas and way of being of the dead Pallasian becomes taken in, creates a conversation with the dead. It is an important moment, when we see a headstrong and talented individual doubt his own theories and self, because he had listened and appreciated the thought and skills of his fellow Pallasians.

What is most interesting about this book is that it was written over 100 years ago and, continues a discussion that constantly takes place today, how to define our society, and where does the advancement of our ideas take us, namely, what ethics do we place in our ideals and ideas. As a reader that generally does not read science fiction, this book read as a book of important ideas trapped in the world of an alien landscape. We are all searching above for the head cloud, we are all on a quest to figure just how we great our ideas can be, yet without taking in other opinions we are stuck with only ourselves and our stubborn tendencies. This book can have endless meanings depending on the reader, which to me is how books should be. There is not necessarily comfort in reading the book, but there is always hope in recognizing that life is a mystery as long as we keep moving forward in some way.

The Creator by Mynona

Mynona: a.k.a. Salomo Friedlander,
Mynona?: Anonym - anonymous in German
Friend of: Benjamin, Kraus, Buber
Date: 1920's
Daytime: Philosopher (Kant for Kids, Friedrich Nietzsche: An Intellectual Biography), writer
Nighttime: Literary madman, writer
Likened to: Kafka, the cross hairs of reality and dreams, in which the philosophical is picked and plucked at by means of defying traditional literary conventions.
Drawings by: Alfred Kubin
Translated by: Peter Wortsman

What does this all mean?

Wakefield has brought us another title that thrusts us into apparitions that maintain a hold over real life. The Creator starts with a waking dreamlike essence involving a lady with grey eyes, which turns our narrator into a frenzy of a paranoiac mania in which subjective and objective have no place, as our narrator says, "In my life I have on several occasions had curious experiences on the border between sleep and wakefulness." In which he further states "My imagination is an entire world that is all mine. It is, moreover, absolutely impossible, even for the most prosaic soul, to truly fathom the real world without grasping the imaginary." He is the creator.

"It is a swindle and a fallacy to think that consciousness could ever be eclipsed. It does, however, glow and keep watch over two distinctly different worlds, as different as night and day."

Mynona/Friedlander crafted a work of philosophical quest and science fiction, in which I mean he creates a science fiction story, that embeds its philosophy within us. The work is involved in tapping into the unconscious for a waking dream of desires, ultimately, and referencing, a Faustian universe. Where, to paraphrase, a creator will use his primordial instinct to "tear himself free of the world and inhabit his innermost self." It is this that is the creator, the one able to break through reality, who can create.

His work is a testament to the time, when dreams and living were entangled in literature, when desires were thoroughly dissected, and every character had a grotesque and yet charming attribute, be it intellect, style, speech, etc and all throughout we get differing ideas on the notion of dependence from machines. "We are ultimately dependent upon our creations." Mynona writes, a quote from Faust indeed. Which only reaches the current audience in 2016 as a harrowing portrait of how we live, and how intertwined with our creations we are. This might not be what Mynona had in mind, but it is a theme that has haunted us through the times.

It is no wonder Walter Benjamin, Buber and Kraus, liked this. Not only is it a work worthy of reading, but it is a cautionary tale of how we live, and how we decide our destiny. The tales of cosmic destiny, and where ownership lies. We can start with a normal apparition, and watch as that drives us to discover the secret potential beyond our dreams. The inner and outer selves lay servants to our very selves, and by delineating the line of reality and creation we are able to harness an incredible power and attain a certain godliness.