The Glorious Lie / The Glory of the Lie: A Card Game Inspired by Stephane Mallarme’s the Book

Mallarme’s magnum opus rendered as an open-ended Tarot-esque card game

Upon his death, Stephane Mallarme (1842-98) left hundreds of notes on an unrealized great work he called The Book. This card-deck conception of his project draws from that material, and from other writings alluding to its possible forms. The title of this game derives from a letter in which Mallarme writes, perhaps the title of my volume of lyric poetry will be The Glory of the Lie, or The Glorious Lie. Each deck contains 48 cards: three with artwork on each side, and 45 with words or phrases on each side. The size of the cards, their gold edging and the physical housing of the decks reflect descriptions and clues in Mallarme’s notes. The manner of playing the game is left open, but quotes and diagrams by Mallarme in the accompanying booklet point to the idea of pulling cards from each of the four decks and laying them out for one reading, then flipping the cards over for a second reading. The readings might be used to create poetry or, like Tarot, to divine or illuminate.