Figuring the Word: Essays on Books, Writing and Visual Poetics [Paperback]

Johanna Drucker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1887123237 | ISBN-13: 978-1887123235 | Publication Date: November 2, 1998

Johanna Drucker is among the foremost authorities on the history of alphabets, writing, artists' books, and visual poetry. This book is a compendium of Drucker's thought - yet rather than anthologize from her numerous published books, Figuring the Word collects writings only previously found in academic and literary journals, as well as transcriptions of her lectures and interviews. The book is divided into sections, each with several chapters, which include "Writing as Artifact", "Visual Poetics", "Artists' Books Past and Future" and "The Future of Writing". None of the work in Figuring the Word has ever been published in book form before, and yet it extends and reveals the already broad range of Drucker's voracious and penetrating intellect.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

"Johanna Druckerhas been making artist's books since 1972, and is currently the Robertson Professor in Media Studies in the English and Literature Department at the University of Virginia. Her critical publications include The Visible World, Theorizing Modernism, The Century of Artists' Book, and Figuring the World; her artistic titles include Nova Reperta, Narratology, Otherspace: Martian Typography, and Dark Decade."

Charles Bernstein, one of the founders of the Language writing movement, is one of the leading figures in contemporary poetry and poetics. He currently teaches at the State University of New York at Buffalo.

Product Details

• Paperback: 312 pages
• Publisher: Granary Books (November 2, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887123237
• ISBN-13: 978-1887123235
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #935,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Enjoyable, January 5, 2001

By 

Dan Waber (Kokomo, IN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Figuring the Word: Essays on Books, Writing and Visual Poetics (Paperback)

I really enjoyed these essays, which range from theory to personal reflection. When discussing specific projects that she has been involved with, it's fascinating they way you are drawn in to feel like you're seeing the behind-the-scenes of the creation process. The treatments of issues of theory were cogent, and well presented. I confess that I dog-eared many a page. The moments of personal reflection were at times almost too personal to bear...not what you might expect from a collection of essays, but welcome to this reader, nonetheless.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource with A Personal Edge, June 26, 2006

By 

Jennifer Dick "Jennifer K. Dick" (France) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Figuring the Word: Essays on Books, Writing and Visual Poetics (Paperback)

Drucker is undeniably THE authority on how the visual word gets displayed and used within the book form today. Thus this collection of interviews, essays, poetic reflections, etc is broad-reaching in its reflections both on others work and her own origins as a poet and printbook-maker. It is a book which makes her reflections palpable, personable and inspires and invites the reader to participate in the process of asking "where now?" concerning our next step in Figuring the Word withing the book's frame. A great pair to her much headier, scholarly book The Visible Word.