Chapter

Part One: Encrypting the Number

Encrypting the Number

EXCERPT

Some reminders to begin with: The complete title of Mallarmé’s poem is Un Coup de Dés jamais n’abolira le Hasard. It first appeared in 1897 in the journal Cosmopolis, preceded by a ‘Comment’ by the author and an ‘Editorial Note’ (in fact penned by Mallarmé himself), and in a layout that did not conform to the poet’s wishes, each double page being reduced to the format of a single page. The Poem would be republished in its final version after Mallarmé’s death, in 1914, in the pages of the Nouvelle Revue française, thanks to the diligence of Edmond Bonniot…