Jacques Rigaut, a French poet belonging to the Dada movement, the epitome of the purest and most stark nihilism, dedicated his life and work—which is almost impossible to dissociate—to a single act: suicide. A rather unprolific and somewhat enigmatic writer, Rigaut left behind several unpublished texts. General Agency of Suicide is largely comprised of these writings—unpublished in Spanish—whose reading, ultimately, is a convincing example of the internal struggle of a person with a great sensitivity and capacity to convey the aesthetic and philosophical concerns of his context through his poetic prose. He delved into themes such as the splitting of identity, loneliness, youth, and death. A contemporary—and to some extent related—of Fernando Pessoa in Lisbon, César Vallejo in Paris, and Roberto Arlt in Buenos Aires, Jacques Rigaut and his writing are a clear testimony to the disenchan...read more
