“Jalal Toufic is a thinker whose influence in the Beirut artistic community over the past two decades has been immense—notwithstanding that, as he put it, many, if not all of his books, most of which were published by Forthcoming Books, ‘continue to be forthcoming even after their publication.’ In relation to one of these books, he wondered: ‘Does not a book titled Forthcoming suggest, ostensibly paradoxically, a second edition?’ Here’s the revised edition of Forthcoming, a book first published nearly a decade and a half ago by Atelos press.”

—Series editors Julieta Aranda, Brian Kuan Wood, Anton Vidokle

“I once wrote, ‘I am not able to find my thoughts without passing through his [Jalal Toufic’s] words, books, and concepts.’ Now, eight years later, things seem to have gotten worse (or better). Jalal wrote in Distracted: ‘— Are you saying this to me? — Also to myself. One should speak solely when also speaking to oneself. Only then is there a dialogue.’ I can also think of the following situation: ‘— Are you saying this to me? — Yes. And not to myself. And only to you.’ Or an instance in which the following is heard: ‘— Are you saying this to me? — Also to myself. One should speak solely when also speaking to oneself. Only then is there a duologue.’”

—Walid Raad, Artist

Contents

Avertissement à l’écrivain

The Threshold of No Return

Every Name in History Is I

Gertrude; or, Love Dies—Followed by, A Fourth Wall that Proved to Be a Radical Closure’s Gateless Gate

If You Prick Us, Do We Not Bleed? No

Forthcoming

You Said, “Stay,” So I Stayed

First Aid, Second Growth, Third Degree, Fourth World, Fifth Amendment, Sixth Sense

Radical-Closure Artist with Bandaged Sense Organ

Copyright Free Farm Road

Middle Eastern Films Before Thy Gaze Returns to Thee—in Less than 1/24 of a Second

Notes Towards Cinematic Biographies of Some Qur’ānic Prophets

Oedipus in Egypt

On Entities Older Than the World

Monstrous Units Over the Plateau

The Anamorphic Skull’s Aside

On Names: Letter to Lyn Hejinian

The Dancer’s Two Bodies

On Portraits: Letter to Christy Turlington

A Hitherto Unrecognized Apocalyptic Photographer: The Universe

Natural Apprehension at Human Burial