Glass! Love!! Perpetual Motion!!!

German writer, critic, and theorist Paul Scheerbart (1863-1915) died nearly a century ago, but his influence is still being felt today. Considered by some a mad eccentric and by others a visionary political thinker in his own time, he is now experiencing a revival thanks to a new generation of scholars who are rightfully situating him in the modernist pantheon.

" Glass! Love!! Perpetu Motion!!!" is the first collection of Scheerbart's multifarious writings to be published in English. In addition to a selection of his fantastical short stories, it includes the influential architectural manifesto "Glass Architecture" and his literary tour-de-force "Perpetual Motion: The Story of an Invention". The latter, written in the guise of a scientific work (complete with technical diagrams), was taken as such when first published but in reality is a fiction – albeit one with an important message.  "Glass! Love!! Perpetual Motion!!!" is richly illustrated with period material, much of it never before reproduced, including a selection of artwork by Paul Scheerbart himself. Accompanying this original material is a selection of essays by scholars, novelists, and filmmakers commissioned for this publication to illuminate Scheerbart's importance, then and now, in the worlds of art, architecture, and culture.

Co-edited by artist Josiah McElheny and Christine Burgin, with new artwork created for this publication by McElheny, "Glass! Love!! Perpetual Motion!!!" is a long-overdue monument to a modern master.