The Perpetual Motion Machine

This captivating narrative chronicles Paul Scheerbart's inventive journey in The Perpetual Motion Machine, blending diary and imagination in a unique exploration of creativity and failure.

In the waning days of 1907, German novelist Paul Scheerbart set out on an ambitious quest to invent a perpetual motion machine. Over the course of two and a half years, he meticulously documented his trials and tribulations from his makeshift laboratory in the laundry room. Engaging plumbers and mechanics, Scheerbart constructed various models while simultaneously spinning out a series of imaginative futures that he believed his invention would unlock. This journey culminated in The Perpetual Motion Machine: The Story of an Invention, originally published in German in 1910.

This work defies easy categorization, blending diary entries, diagrams, and digressions into a narrative that straddles the line between memoir and reverie. Poet and translator Andrew Joron describes it as a two-and-a-half-year-long tantrum of the imagination. Scheerbart's writing oscillates between irony and genuine enthusiasm, creating a unique fusion of visionary humor and optimistic failure. Ultimately, it reveals itself as more of a literary invention than a scientific one, echoing the imaginative style of Robert Walser in the realm of science fiction.

As Scheerbart grapples with the implications of his invention, themes of globalization, ecological disaster, and the specter of militarization emerge. His reflections lead him to a paradoxical dread of success, revealing a deep-seated belief in the power of imagination. The Perpetual Motion Machine serves as both an ode to the creativity born from despair and a call to arms for the imagination in the face of practical limitations.