Memery.
- Grab the nearest book.
- Open the book to page 23.
- Find the fifth sentence.
- Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
All right then:
And tell me whether any literary work whatsoever is compatible with states of this kind.
Context:
...the whole problem: to have within oneself the inseparable reality and the physical clarity of a feeling, to have it to such a degree that it is impossible for it not to be expressed, to have a wealth of words, of acquired turns of phrase capable of joining the dance, coming into play; and the moment the soul is preparing to organize its wealth, its discoveries, this revelation, at that unconscious moment when the thing is on the point of coming forth, a superior and evil will attacks the soul like a poison, attacks the mass consisting of word and image, attacks the mass of feeling, and leaves me panting as if at the very door of life.
And now suppose that I feel this will physically passing through me, that it jolts me with a sudden and unexpected electricity, a repeated electricity. Suppose that each of my thinking moments is on certain days shaken by these profound tempests which nothing outside betrays. And tell me whether any literary work whatsoever is compatible with states of this kind.
That is the twenty-seven–year–old Artaud writing to the editor of the prestigious Nouvelle Revue Française, the well-known poet Jacques Rivière, ten years Artaud’s senior. It is also the clearest presentation of the problem’s core we have from Artaud himself.
—“Wagner/Artaud,” from Samuel Delany’s Longer Views; meme via Elkins

Commenting is closed for this article.
Power to the people! Teeth for shrimp! Plato was a fascist! The banality of outrage









You inspired me; I followed the meme instructions and got this sentence:
If you are inside a building, move toward a window.
It's from um, my Nokia phone user guide.
— lori Apr 8, 05:07 PM #
— Seth Apr 8, 05:56 PM #
Hmm.
— Steve Apr 8, 06:27 PM #
— Patrick Apr 8, 07:40 PM #
— Dylan Apr 8, 07:46 PM #
Taking the path of least resistance, the 5th sentence on page 25 is:
— Bill Tozier Apr 9, 02:55 AM #
NRSV
— boloboffin Apr 9, 05:41 AM #
— Nick F Apr 9, 07:20 AM #
From an article in the marketing annual editions entitled THe customer profitability Conundrum: When to love 'em or Leave 'em by Booz Allen Hamilton, which is just a cool name.
— bethanne Apr 9, 07:54 AM #
from Kalpa Imperial: the Greatest Empire that never was
by Angelica Gorodischer, trans. by Ursula K. Le Guin
— christy Apr 9, 08:11 AM #
Chambers Dictionary of World History (adopting a certain flexibility as to what counts as a sentence)
— Tim May Apr 9, 08:37 AM #
Flash MX Design for TV and Video by Janet Galore and Todd Kelsey
— J. Pinkham Apr 9, 12:39 PM #
— Patrick Nielsen Hayden Apr 9, 05:48 PM #
— --k. Apr 9, 08:40 PM #
Now I just need to get myself a journal . . .
— Mr Ripley Apr 9, 08:48 PM #
— Ray Apr 10, 06:44 AM #
Walker Percy, The Moviegoer.
— sara Apr 11, 07:53 AM #
-- The Wind in the Willows
— cussing is good for you Apr 11, 05:08 PM #
-- Mozart: A Cultural Biography
— daniel-mark Apr 11, 05:35 PM #
1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.From Galatea 2.2, by Richard Powers: After that, we left...
— leuschke.org Apr 12, 03:33 AM #
— christy Apr 12, 04:51 AM #
"If anything, he thought the straight-shooter in the cowboy hat might produce a pair of handcuffs."
Now, for an exercise, string all the resulting quotes into a new short story.
— R W Potter Apr 12, 09:37 AM #
- Marshall McLuhan, The Gutenberg Galaxy
— alex Apr 12, 09:41 AM #
Caterina points us to Memery, an experiment in distributed literary collage (a la William S. Burroughs' famous "cut-up" technique). Instructions: Grab the nearest book Open to page 23 Read the fifth sentence Post it Here's mine: "The easy habit of...
— alex wright Apr 12, 09:49 AM #
I thought today we could play a literary game.
— foldedspace.org Apr 12, 11:48 AM #
— James Apr 12, 10:48 PM #
from "Degunking Windows" by Joli Ballew and Jeff Duntemann
Sandy McMurray, Editor
http://www.TechStuff.ca/
— Sandy Apr 13, 06:01 AM #
Trivial Neat exercise to see what people are reading. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. Mine: "Aquinas would say...
— 100 unfair and unbalanced monkeys typing Apr 13, 06:31 AM #
From Kerry (who got it here: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along...
— A View from the Classroom -- Lehmann's Log Apr 13, 07:07 AM #
One day, I hope to concoct a fabulous traffic-generating scheme like this, which I found through About Last Night and Edward Champion's Return of the Reluctant. Here's the deal: 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page...
— Infinite Monkeys Apr 13, 07:36 AM #
Instructions: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the...
— Mercurial Apr 13, 10:30 AM #
- my camera's instruction manual.
— CS Apr 13, 11:35 AM #
~ Larry Bossidy, Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done
— Jackie Apr 13, 06:10 PM #
From EIGRP Network Design Solutions
— Jeremy Apr 14, 07:44 AM #
— Righteously Indignant Apr 14, 07:47 AM #
~ Julie E. Czerneda - In the Company of Others
— d Apr 14, 08:07 AM #
— Dead Radin, PhD - "The Conscious Universe," pg. 25 par. 5
— Fluffernutter Apr 14, 09:35 AM #
-- Niccolo Machiavelli, "The Prince", page 23, fifth complete sentence
— Alex Freeman Apr 14, 10:10 AM #
Here's an interesting game. 1. Take the closest book to you. 2. Turn to page 23. 3. Type out the fifth sentence. "The gravitational body force acting on an element of volume, dV, is given by rho(g)(dV), where rho is...
— Manifest Inanity Apr 14, 10:11 AM #
A cool meme. Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. "Secondly, although an English carrier or short-faced tumbler differs immensely...
— Subzero Blue Apr 14, 10:21 AM #
J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit
— Adam B Apr 14, 10:29 AM #
— John Apr 14, 10:48 AM #
The Sheep Look Up - John Brunner
— Skin Apr 14, 10:59 AM #
-April Issue of the Calontir Mews
— Eosha Apr 14, 11:26 AM #
-Jude The Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
— Jimbo Apr 14, 11:44 AM #
Thanks, Holden.
— sixswitch Apr 14, 11:50 AM #
~ David Harvey, The Condition of Postmodernity
— Ur|el Apr 14, 12:15 PM #
Underboss - Sammy "The Bull" Gravano's story of life in the mafia, as told by Peter Maas.
— Lou Cabrazzi Apr 14, 12:26 PM #
— jt Apr 14, 12:28 PM #
~ Alan Moore, Watchmen
— Jon Apr 14, 12:29 PM #
[The Dilbert Principle by Scott Adams]
— Mark Apr 14, 12:31 PM #
Graham Greene, The Heart of the Matter
— sarah Apr 14, 01:55 PM #
Signed,
Complete Douchebag
— Fluffernutter Apr 14, 02:01 PM #
— Ryan Apr 14, 02:42 PM #
— Dave Apr 14, 02:48 PM #
Dateline: Toronto
E.Hemingway
— rod Apr 14, 02:50 PM #
- Terry Pratchett, _Small Gods_
— alkahest Apr 14, 03:30 PM #
G. Gordon Liddy - Will (Don't ask)
— Sasha Apr 14, 03:58 PM #
-Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.
— Keith Anselm Apr 14, 04:46 PM #
Human Sexuality Textbook
— David Apr 14, 04:57 PM #
— Joe Apr 14, 06:10 PM #
-Computer Graphics Principles and Practice
— Mike Apr 14, 07:11 PM #
(For the gringos, "Do you (informal) learn much in your classes?")
Page 23: Present Tense of -er and -ir from New Edition Nassi Level 1 Spanish First Year Workbook, a most intriguing tome indeed.
— Em Apr 15, 02:33 AM #
(Eng: Would you like a quarter of a lizard or a small frog leg?)
Wilhelm Hauff, Die Karawane - Märchen, Die Geschichte von Kalif Storch
(Eng: Wilhelm Hauff, The Caravan - Fairy Tales, The Tale of Caliph Stork)
— Kixx Apr 15, 05:43 AM #
You have already built several applications using this process in PeopleTools I and PeopleTools II.
— karen Apr 15, 06:18 AM #
"Pick up the nearest book. Open it to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions." Ok: "Each boy saw the other was coated up to his neck in
— Trams! Apr 15, 06:22 AM #
Caught a link through PLSJ to a little fun with instant bibliomancy (the art of foretelling the future by reading...
— Blog de Halavais Apr 15, 07:05 AM #
This from "Six Days of War" by Michael B. Oren
— Ben Apr 15, 08:51 AM #
From 203 Ways to Drive a Man Wild in Bed, by Olivia St. Claire
— Tree Apr 15, 09:31 AM #
closest book was: Webster's New World Compact Japanese Direction, 23rd page, 5th entry
:)
— Arlo Apr 15, 09:48 AM #
From: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
— [No author] Apr 15, 12:50 PM #
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...
— zboïng! Apr 15, 01:41 PM #
-Javascript: The Definitive Guide (3rd Edition)
by: David Flanagan
— J. Boles Apr 15, 05:16 PM #
Robertson Davies _What's Bred in the Bone_
— Charles Bull Apr 15, 05:40 PM #
— Keith Apr 16, 02:33 AM #
Jag tror att sidan 23 fenomenet som dykt upp på många bloggar de senaste dagarna har sitt ursprung här: longstoryshortpier.com. Rätta mig om jag har fel. Här kommer mitt bidrag: Ta den bok som ligger närmast. Öppna boken på sidan...
— weblog#petern Apr 16, 02:48 AM #
Alex points to a fun meme on Long Story Short Pier. Here's what you do: Grab the nearest book.Open the book to page 23.Find the...
— Fragments Apr 16, 03:15 AM #
Robert Prather via Pejman, which I traced back to Long story; short pier , comes the following challenge:1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the...
— PoliBlog Apr 16, 03:40 AM #
The dentist liked black women, first because they said things that could have got a KO'd boxer back on his feet, and second because they didn't sweat in bed. It wasn’t that he had a racial preference, per se. Rather,...
— onepotmeal Apr 16, 04:15 AM #
— elaine Apr 16, 05:26 AM #
Long Story; Short Pier wants to start a meme: 1) Grab the nearest book. 2) Open the book to page...
— Ipse Dixit Apr 16, 07:35 AM #
The law descended on me.
— ali leslie Apr 16, 07:38 AM #
Every Breath You Take -- Ann Rule.
— Juliet Apr 16, 07:55 AM #
Satisfying the meme indulgence. 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. For example, include any JDBC...
— The SmarterCop Apr 16, 08:01 AM #
— dave Apr 16, 08:26 AM #
Here, it says this: Grab the nearest book. Open the book to page 23. Find the fifth sentence. Post the...
— blogoSFERICS Apr 16, 10:16 AM #
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...
— zboïng! Apr 16, 10:17 AM #
- Uncle John's Unstoppable Bathroom Reader
— Jonco Apr 16, 10:46 AM #
It's Friday finally so I'll waste a minute or two and play along to help Long Story;Short Pier start his meme: 1.Grab the nearest book. 2.Open the book to page 23. 3.Find the fifth sentence. 4.Post the text of the...
— Scilicet Apr 16, 12:00 PM #
Case attempts to control his paranoia in William Gibson's 'Neuromancer' (1984)
— Doba Apr 16, 04:18 PM #
For some reason, I am particularly curious about the origins of this meme. I only found out about it today,...
— Lady Crumpet's Armoire Apr 16, 07:05 PM #
The meme infecting the entire world of blogs is the following: 1.
— David Harris' Science Apr 16, 07:27 PM #
— Matt Apr 16, 07:28 PM #
from The Graduate School of Design Student Handbook 003 / 004
— miranda Apr 17, 06:35 AM #
(from Contact by Carl Sagan)
— Jo-Ellen Apr 17, 08:49 AM #
Well, ok, I'll play - 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.Following the directions explicitly -...
— Silent Running Apr 17, 10:45 AM #
The Doors of Perception - Aldous Huxley
— ChefQuix Apr 17, 03:28 PM #
Preston, Dave. 2003. _Motorcycle 101_. Seattle, WA: Mixed Media (www.mm411.com)
— Plain Jim Apr 17, 07:10 PM #
Long Story, Short Pier wants it, and here it is: 2) Open the book to page 23. 3) Find the fifth sentence. 4) Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. It just happens that...
— slartibartfast Apr 18, 03:36 AM #
-Manual, Sid Meier's Civilization III: Conquests, The Mongols.
(Note synchronicity of number 5)
— MJ Apr 18, 09:32 AM #
- The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes -
— Shane M. Kathol Apr 18, 05:29 PM #
- "The New Dealers' War" by Thomas Fleming
— Robin Roberts Apr 18, 06:07 PM #
The nearest book
— selling waves Apr 18, 06:52 PM #
Requiring this kind of confirmation is as draconian as it is futile According to this meme about grabbing the nearest book and looking up the 5th sentence on page 23. (the book is The Humane Interface by Jef Raskin) [ via FrozenSkies, via the Textpatte...
— Jens-Christian Fischer's Blog Apr 18, 11:45 PM #
From the manual for the computer game "Master of Orion 3"
(I am amazed at the kind of books other people had closest to their computer)
— Rob Newshutz Apr 19, 01:36 AM #
For some reason, I am particularly curious about the origins of this meme. I only found out about it yesterday,...
— Lady Crumpet's Armoire Apr 19, 04:12 AM #
'LA HISTORIA DEFINITIVA DEL INFINITO' - Richard Morris
Original title: 'Achilles in the Quantum Universe'
— Neil Apr 19, 04:17 AM #
The Bantam Medical Dictionary (rev 1990)
— gena m. Apr 19, 05:24 AM #
— Sylvie Apr 19, 07:05 AM #
— gina Apr 19, 09:12 AM #
Charles Van Loan, "Baseball as the Bleachers Like It" (1909), quoted in "Baseball: A Literary Anthology".
— Andrew Rogers Apr 19, 11:52 AM #
From a manual on sailing an assymetrical spinnaker on a larger vessel.
— lauren Apr 19, 01:30 PM #
--From Kaplan's SAT II Biology E/M 2003-4 Edition
— bryan Apr 19, 04:26 PM #
C. Bukowski: Sifting Through the Madness for the Word, the Line, the Way
— Bernie Apr 20, 04:53 AM #
Look ma! Another pointless internet thingy I've opted to get involved with: Long Story, Short Pier wants it, and here it is: 1) Grab the nearest book. 2) Open the book to page 23. 3) Find the fifth sentence. 4)...
— Anticipatory Retaliation Apr 20, 08:16 AM #
I tracked down what seems to be the source of this meme, and thought I would join in. 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of...
— Chubby Momma's Blog Apr 20, 09:57 AM #
— Mark Apr 20, 10:09 AM #
Tracking the Page 23 Meme to its source, starting from where I first saw it: OKCalvin < Tulipgirl < Thinklings < Jared < Elfin Ethicist...
— How Now, Brownpau? Apr 20, 11:01 AM #
...
Words escape me.
B...
— Ben Apr 20, 11:05 AM #
-Herman Daly, Steady State Economics, 1991
— todd Apr 20, 01:37 PM #
--Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi
— Tom Apr 20, 02:31 PM #
--Understanding and Using English Grammar 2nd Ed. by, Betty Schrampfer Azar
— Todd Apr 20, 06:17 PM #
~ In the Beginning... Was the Command Line by Neal Stephenson
— Sandy Apr 20, 09:10 PM #
— Chris Apr 21, 05:57 AM #
— Rask Apr 22, 09:03 AM #
— Martin Apr 22, 02:06 PM #
from - "Learning to Draw Drawing to Learn."
— Jason Apr 23, 05:15 AM #
From 「孤剣」(Koken), by Fujisawa Shuuhei.
— bjh Apr 25, 01:05 AM #
(From Artisan Baking Across America)
— jim Apr 25, 07:32 AM #
— Ian Apr 26, 11:57 AM #
— Ollie Apr 28, 06:13 AM #
The Death and Rebirth of the Senica, by A.F.C. Wallace.
— Eric Scott Apr 28, 05:02 PM #
-- Peter Pan, by J.M. Barrie
— Dontera Apr 29, 08:34 PM #
— Adam May 1, 09:54 AM #
Spreading to a blog near you: 1. Grab the nearest book. 2. Open the book to page 23. 3. Find the fifth sentence. 4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions. Okay, here goes....
— cogdogblog May 5, 04:08 PM #
~ Lewis Carroll,
"Alice in Wonderland"
— Helden May 7, 10:07 PM #
-- "Traveling Mercies" Anne Lamott
— Julia May 9, 06:11 PM #
"Getting Started: The Business - Critical Messaging and Collaboration Server, Exchange Server"
— raneking22 May 10, 10:18 AM #
Consciousness is taken by surprise and split into two levels, one conventional and one unconventional.
- Robert Grudin, On Dialogue: An Essay in Free Thought
Anyone interested in creative literary devices like this one might also want to check out the Oulipo, Grown Dodo, and the Internet Anagram Server.
— Tyson Vaughan May 12, 05:17 AM #
The new species of being is the thought of the essence of actuality itself: the absolute termination of the construction of the world: the absolute itself the middle term, qua existential matter: the absolute itself the articulated (complex) essence: the word itself thought itself: matter itself unconditionally essential (the elemental constituents of the absolute essentially absolute): the perfection itself of experience now essentially not yet itself the body itself, but yet experience itself essentially unconditioned.
(From "Foundation: Matter the Body Itself" by D.G. Leahy)
— t1ernd0g May 26, 08:29 PM #
— peter May 28, 08:07 AM #
Morning by Morning. by: Charles H. Spurgeon
— Lucy Jul 11, 06:14 PM #
— Web Log di Adrian Florea Aug 27, 09:13 AM #
From China Boy by Gus Lee
— Jamesy Sep 2, 10:31 AM #
this has bee =n typed reas fast and injapanese so ha ha ha ur page fuckin sucks you dumb ass piece of crap
— Jbbb Nov 3, 04:28 PM #
- from the computer science ethics textbook, A Gift of Fire, by Sara Baase
— dldld Nov 18, 12:46 PM #
Avec beaucoup de retard, je poste la mienne.
C?est probablement une analogie à la fois formelle et sémantique qui a aligné l?horloge autrefois masculine sur la montre et la pendule.
Marina Yaguello, Le sexe des mots (ISBN : 2-02-021095-9)...
— Empyrée Nov 24, 05:42 AM #
Vu ailleurs, lu ici : Prenez le livre le plus proche; Ouvrez le livre à la page 23; Trouvez la cinquième phrase; Postez le texte de la phrase sur votre blogue avec ces instructions. Le résultat (Le nouvel art du...
— zboïng! Dec 3, 06:41 AM #
— Gil Dec 28, 06:12 AM #
— Andrew Portman Nov 9, 05:14 AM #