The Eleven Thousand Rods

The Eleven Thousand Rods (1907), by Guillaume Apollinaire, is an erotic novel that blends satire, excess, and transgression. The work follows the adventures of Prince Mony Vibescu, a young Romanian nobleman who travels across Europe indulging in endless sexual experiences. His journey becomes a grotesque parade of extreme situations in which desire is portrayed as unrestrained, irrational, and often violent, defying the moral and literary conventions of its time.
The narrative unfolds as a succession of episodes in which the protagonist plunges into orgies, fantasies, and sexual practices taken to the limit. Each episode seems to outdo the previous one in extravagance and rawness, making the novel a catalog of excesses that is deliberately provocative. Apollinaire does not seek to conceal obscenity but instead highlights it as a narrative device and as an ironic critique of social hypocrisy.
Beyond its scandalous content, The Eleven Thousand Rods can also be read as a parody of adventure and travel novels. Mony Vibescu's journeys place him in an international context that reflects early 20th-century Europe, but the absurd and grotesque situations transform the voyage into an exploration of the boundaries of the body and desire. In this way, the work moves between eroticism, satire, and the absurd.
Guillaume Apollinaire (1880-1918) was a French poet, storyteller, and art critic, one of the central figures of the European avant-garde. Known for his innovative poetry and his closeness to movements such as Cubism and Surrealism, he also ventured into erotic fiction with works such as The Eleven Thousand Rods and The Eleven Thousand Whips. His irreverent style and his ability to break taboos made him an influential author, whose work continues to attract interest for its boldness and literary experimentation.

Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet, art critic, and essayist, regarded as one of the most influential figures of the literary avant-garde of the 20th century. His work, marked by formal experimentation and a break with poetic traditions, made him a pioneer of modernism and surrealism. He was also one of the first to use the term "surrealist," anticipating a movement that would transform literature and the visual arts.
Throughout his life, Apollinaire became a central figure in the Parisian avant-garde. He was a friend and collaborator of artists such as Picasso, Braque, and Derain, promoting and defending Cubism in his critical writings. As a poet, he broke with traditional metrics and explored new expressive forms in works like Alcools (1913), where he eliminated punctuation to allow greater rhythmic freedom, and Calligrammes (1918), in which he combined visual poetry and innovative typography, creating true poem-objects.
His work paved the way for movements such as Surrealism, Dadaism, and Concrete Poetry. The formal boldness and creative freedom he championed are still recognized as fundamental to the evolution of modern literature. In addition, his work as a critic helped legitimize and spread the reputation of artists who would later be regarded as pillars of contemporary art.