the typewriter and the mouth...

henri chopin was the supreme poet of both the typewriter and the mouth. you can find a ton of information about him, as well as the publication he founded - revou ou', online (a good place to start is here).

being a sucker for a book with a record inside, i have always loved his little catalog with a 7" published in 1987 by gallerie J&J donguy. between the visual poems and the audible ones, there is a wonderful feeling of connectedness - particularly in that the sound poem, made with mouth and tape, resembles very much a typewriter's frenetic/rhythmic activity. it's a beautiful rhythmic stuttering presence that mimics the visual works.

click here to listen (and if you listen quietly it sounds a bit like trickling water...)

music for dancing...

"both visual poetry and sound poetry incorporate elements of rhythm. one can move inwardly to a sound poem or interpret it in outward movement or dance. one can, by empathy, enter into the spatial rhythms of a visual poem, or can give it full muscular response. so both sound and visual poetry are steps into the arena. visual poetry is the plan, sound poetry the impulse; visual poetry the score and sound poetry your actual music for dancing."

bob cobbing, music for dancing, stereo headphones magazine, 1971

when ads become scores...

the first page of a 4 page ad campaign for klh stereo components from a stereo/hi-fi magazine circa 1965. the "why" page faced another white page that says: (at klh we ask it softly but persistently.)

looking a lot like the visual poetry of ian hamilton finlay or the typewriter poems of henri chopin, one could easily imagine the image of the whys and the description facing them as a score for a performance...

simply speaking the text "softly and persistently"... reading across or down or a combination of various directions where the words dissappear into sounds.