I find it interesting looking back at how comparatively shorter many of the full-length poetry collections of, for example, the 1980s and early 1990s were. I'm thinking, for instance, of Carolyn Forche's 'The Country Between Us', published by Cape in 1983, such an influential book with 45 pages of poetry. The poems are placed with a large space above each title. There is so much contemplative space within the volume. Although the print isn't particularly large, it appears quite inky and pointed and imprints itself on the reader. Pages are thicker than nowadays, the book very tactile.
I like that idea of contemplative space within the volume. It does feel squeezed these days with thicker books on thinner paper. And I must try to read the Forche in the original — I am writing about ‘The Colonel’ right now!
Hello, Jeremy. This is brilliant! You might appreciate this poem from the Irish poet Linda McKenna called "Authorized Version," forthcoming in her volume _Four Thousand Keys_ from Doire Press in 2024:
Between 1916 and 1917, following a dispute between him and his former partner, Emory Walker, Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson ‘consecrated’ the Doves Type to the Thames, throwing more than a ton of lead type into the river.
Thanks for this, Jessica! Sorry the couplets got squashed... I remember reading about the Doves story here, after seeing that someone had digitally dredged it up from the river bed: https://typespec.co.uk/doves-type-revival/. If you scroll down you can see that wonderful red 'In the Beginning'.
Jeremy, thank you. Some writers don't bother much, others care deeply about this stuff. I've known poets who will rewrite a poem to avoid having a few lines flowing onto a new page. And prose writers who insist on watching over my shoulder as I take in proof corrections - to ensure that the paragraphs stay shapely on the page, or (in fiction) to avoid having a major reveal on a recto (the reader's eye may skip across; for a reveal, make the reader turn the page).
I'd never thought of suspense in fiction and physical page-turning like this! Prose writers I suppose have an even harder time than poets making sure their work is laid out the way they'd like (as Kundera suggests re: Kafka).
I use Comic Sans for the dialogue in my weekly cartoon CATSPEAK for Three Quarks Daily. I don't absolutely love it, but what else is there? Cats don't speak Impact, or Times New Roman, or even Aptos.
We should perhaps mention Canadian poet Robert Bringhurst who wrote the indispensable ‘The Elements of Typographical Style’ which for those of us poets addicted to how our poems look is a rush of pleasure. It includes samples and discussion of many available fonts.
I have never seen any of his poetry books but I imagine they must be glorious.
I find it interesting looking back at how comparatively shorter many of the full-length poetry collections of, for example, the 1980s and early 1990s were. I'm thinking, for instance, of Carolyn Forche's 'The Country Between Us', published by Cape in 1983, such an influential book with 45 pages of poetry. The poems are placed with a large space above each title. There is so much contemplative space within the volume. Although the print isn't particularly large, it appears quite inky and pointed and imprints itself on the reader. Pages are thicker than nowadays, the book very tactile.
I like that idea of contemplative space within the volume. It does feel squeezed these days with thicker books on thinner paper. And I must try to read the Forche in the original — I am writing about ‘The Colonel’ right now!
That's a coincidence, Jeremy! I strongly recommend you read the original if you can get hold of it. It will be a different experience!
Hello, Jeremy. This is brilliant! You might appreciate this poem from the Irish poet Linda McKenna called "Authorized Version," forthcoming in her volume _Four Thousand Keys_ from Doire Press in 2024:
Between 1916 and 1917, following a dispute between him and his former partner, Emory Walker, Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson ‘consecrated’ the Doves Type to the Thames, throwing more than a ton of lead type into the river.
On Good Friday, God’s spirit moves again
over the face of the waters. His Word descends,
letter by letter, leaden cell by leaden cell,
heavy with the burden of forgiveness and love;
down to the river’s bed of ink, where sometimes
they dye the water rust-red as In The Beginning.
I stand on a covered bridge, all ivy and blank
trefoils, emptying my pockets of the last things
I will write with, stub of eyebrow pencil, a worn
flat lipstick, eyeshadow the colour of bruises.
It is in couplets, but that didn't translate well here when the TYPE and LAYOUT were erased!
Alas.
Thanks for this, Jessica! Sorry the couplets got squashed... I remember reading about the Doves story here, after seeing that someone had digitally dredged it up from the river bed: https://typespec.co.uk/doves-type-revival/. If you scroll down you can see that wonderful red 'In the Beginning'.
This is fantastic, Jeremy! I had only heard about the story when Linda offered some context before reading her poem.
Jeremy, thank you. Some writers don't bother much, others care deeply about this stuff. I've known poets who will rewrite a poem to avoid having a few lines flowing onto a new page. And prose writers who insist on watching over my shoulder as I take in proof corrections - to ensure that the paragraphs stay shapely on the page, or (in fiction) to avoid having a major reveal on a recto (the reader's eye may skip across; for a reveal, make the reader turn the page).
I'd never thought of suspense in fiction and physical page-turning like this! Prose writers I suppose have an even harder time than poets making sure their work is laid out the way they'd like (as Kundera suggests re: Kafka).
I'm with W.S. Graham (can't help it) “you must know it is bad”
Yes, that line made me laugh. But also, it is indeed very bad.
I use Comic Sans for the dialogue in my weekly cartoon CATSPEAK for Three Quarks Daily. I don't absolutely love it, but what else is there? Cats don't speak Impact, or Times New Roman, or even Aptos.
We should perhaps mention Canadian poet Robert Bringhurst who wrote the indispensable ‘The Elements of Typographical Style’ which for those of us poets addicted to how our poems look is a rush of pleasure. It includes samples and discussion of many available fonts.
I have never seen any of his poetry books but I imagine they must be glorious.