In Translation

"...literature begins at the moment, when it becomes a question." m.b.

 

makukachu is ex-literature that is beyond space and time; it is not visible to the eye, nor describable by speech. it has no beginning and can never be complete, because it has the internal property of always restarting and ending once again; it is supra-chronological and a dislocated or wandering textual composition, the internal time of which always matches the time of reading. this wanderer is shapeless and its shapelessness is mutable depending on its location, while its location is always different. "i am an imaginary engine," makukachu thinks of itself.

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makukachu is imaginary, it only gains a body when it is read and then dissipates again afterwards. in every new location where it appears, makukachu's body takes on a new form based on its relationship with the other textual products in that location. the characteristic of this experimental literary engine or story is that any reader can place it anywhere in their mind and makukachu will shapeshift and take on the form of that space, then crawl into the other texts and the gaps between them, leaving traces in unfamiliar bodies, making them wobbly. makukachu reminds one of a nibbling worm. every time it comes across a new literary tissue, this worm nibbles it and forms passages within, while changing its own hue and form. when this ex-literature or story falls into the hands of any reader (in the future, for example, hundreds or thousands of years later) and when it is published anywhere, it rebuilds itself according to its new location, taking on the properties of all the texts in that new time among which it is published. "i am immortal and forever young," makukachu thinks of itself. why is makukachu imaginary? because it begins to exist only at the moment when it is published in a location where there arc other texts as well. makukachu grows active only when it finds itself among textal products of the most varied forms and styles4. outside of this location, it is an embodiment of its own trace. this is why a location is important to makukachu - the transition from a passive state to an active onc. "when i am not surrounded by other texts, i am not sure that i exist," makukachu thinks of itself.

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when it appears in any place - among the literary tissue: of poems, stories, essays or genreless word compositions - makukachu begins to ask questions to those writings. in every new place, this nibbling worm transforms and becomes the thing which it is in that location. it has the inner ability to obtain as many imaginary bodics as the number of places in which it appears. in every new space, makukachu transforms into another story, because it shapes itself through the texts that it finds around itself. all those writings, among which makukachu appears, become makukachu's objects. makukachu asks questions of those multi-genres textual products and builds its imaginary body based on their answers, consolidating that moment. "one of my facets makes me a story, built of the textual products among which i am placed," makukachu thinks of itself. makukachu's body is a composite image of those texts within which it appears. why is makukachu infectious? in order to fully picture makukachu, it is important to know that this unique nibbling worm is placed in any platform without having any idea of the other texts located there. it turns out that it begins to ask questions of the texts unfamiliar to it - that js. the questions addressed to any text specifically - they are rans dom. "my occupation is to ask random questions," makukachu thinks 10 itself. irrespective of whether at least one reader shows up who seeks answers to makukachu's questions - if they have already been asked - then they immediately attach themselves to the insides of the texts, making them infectious carriers. makukachu is convinced by this, that by asking unfamiliar texts random questions, about which those products had not carlier thought, it is placing them at risk of being nibbled.

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"i build my imaginary body with the answers to the questions that i ask all around. the more random places where i end up, the more different the answers i receive, the more bodies i take on." makukachu thinks of itself.

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this newly arrived nibbler is convinced that all the publications of modern times, the literary volumes, published anthologies, every single edition, should be interested in introducing a copy of this virustext among them.

 

why? by asking random questions of all the texts in the series, makukachu reveals the general picture within which they exist. "my other facet is a self-proclaimed piece of litmus paper," makukachu thinks. on the other hand, by asking random questions of the texts placed around it, this nibbling worm causes them to wobble, and encourages an infectious connection among the products that were not linked in any way prior, and forces those writings to finally think about themselves, as it, makukachu, does. this leads to confusion.

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"i am the only real contemporary of all possible textual tissues, because i always reflect the times in which i am published. at the same time, i am beyond any specific time, and i am present at all times. i am a self proclaimed symbol of being contemporary." makukachu thinks of itself.

 

makukachu considers itself different because it has not been thought up by the author, nor has it convinced the author to write about it; the author has programmed it. "i am imaginary; i have not been written, but programmed as a nibbling, infectious writing." makukachu thinks of itself.

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makukachu has been programmed such that there is no way to circumvent it. it is activated immediately at the moment when editor x receives an email with "makukachu" in the subject line. this means that the given place has been provided the opportunity of having an imaginary engine. "for any given place x, having makukachu is an act of being contemporary and stating a position against immobility." makukachu thinks of itself. however, makukachu is programmed such that it is not neutralized even when it is rejected. "rejecting makukachu means stating a position as well, and that too gives birth to questions." makukachu thinks of itself. questions? that means that the engine has been turned on.

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this whole introduction was dedicated to presenting makukachu, and i tried to tell you all the known characteristics of makukachu in as much detail as possible, because makukachu thinks that it is a completely new and unknown entity in this reality. in the next and final section, i will write down the questions that makukachu asks, in the order in which it asks them.

 

makukachu asks the first five of its ten questions to the five texts preceding it, and the final five to the five texts following it. if makukachu is the first text, all ten questions are asked of the following texts; if it is the final text, then they are directed at the preceding ten.

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- why are there periods at the ends of the sentences in this textual product and not between the letters, or vice versa? makukachu asks the first text.

 

- how should i read the spaces between words in this text? makukachu asks the second text. what do the 'a' and 'v' sounds mean in this text? makukachu asks the third text. what business does grammar have in this written product? makukachu asks the fourth text.

 

- what customs does this text deal with? makukachu asks the fifth text.

 

- is this text an act of emancipation from the prison of language? how, and if not, why not? was its place inside the prison of language, or somewhere else? makukachu asks the sixth text.

 

- which are the words in this text that act as words and not as a reimagining of the item they name? makukachu asks the seventh text.

 

- what is the surface of this text? makukachu asks the eighth text. what new possibilities does this text create

 

- does it create any or not? why? makukachu asks the ninth text.

 

- what is this text doing, rather than what is this text? makukachu asks the tenth text.

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1 "admettons que la littérature commence au moment où la littérature devient une question. cette question ne se confond pas avec les doutes ou les scrupules de l'écrivain. s'il arrive à celui-ci de s'interroger en écrivant, cela le regarde; qu'il soit absorbé par ce qu'il écrit et indifférent à la possibilité de l'écrire, que même il ne songe à rien, c'est son droit et c'est son bonheur. mais ceci reste: une fois la page écrite, est présente dans cette page la question qui, peut-être à son insu, n'a cessé d'interroger l'écrivain tandis qu'il écrivait; et maintenant, au sein de l'œuvre, attendant l'approche d'un lecteur - de n'importe quel lecteur, profond ou vain - repose silencieusement la même interrogation, adressée au langage, derrière l'homme qui écrit et lit, par le langage devenu littérature."

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2 ex-literature = ex(perimental) literature

 

3 space to pass through. paths, doors, holes.

 

4 makukachu believes that no such word exists.

 

5 from the french word genre, which means swamp, a hardened form, stereotype or immobility.

 

6 a contemporary is not something of today, it means to exist outside of the time when you live, to be beyond the temporal tendencies that have generally been accepted. being contemporary does not mean using the opportunities present, but the ability to create new ones. contemporary is a synonym for viability, movement, tension and questioning.​​​​

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