Never Mind the Beasts

I’ve been reactivating my German from high school and college. Dreaming of Berlin. But also other things in the air. Like the prose poems of Max Jacob.

Max Jacob (1876-1944) was a French poet, painter, and writer who played a significant role in the early 20th-century literary scene. He was a close friend of Pablo Picasso and Guillaume Apollinaire, and his work is known for its blend of surrealism and symbolism. Jacob’s prose poems, such as those in his collection “Le Cornet à dés” (The Dice Box), often explore themes of dreams, spirituality, and the subconscious.

Here is a little prose poem from a new collection of travel prose poems coming in March 2025 from Broken Sleep Books in the UK. Lots of them are based on dreams. This one was in the air. It is called “Pulse of the Nation.”

“Pulse of the Nation” explores the collective consciousness, maybe, partially. It draws from history of the now.