The Vispo Bible: Matthew 8, 9 and 10 in Train : journal of concrete poetry

thanks to DW Adams for including three chapters from the Vispo Bible in Train. Another piece was also included on the blog http://trainpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2019/12/from-vispo-bible-matthew-27.html and DW was kind enough to interview me about my visual poetry and other things here.http://trainpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/2020/01/an-interview-with-amanda-earl.html.

a hand made visual poem featured in Guest 8: Femmecraft

G U E S T 8 , the latest in the above/ground press chapbooks edited by guests is now out. https://guestpoetryjournal.blogspot.com/.

For this issue, the editors are the wonderful Kate Siklosi and Dani Spinosa, who sent out a call for femmecraft, hand made work. I loved this idea. I am pleased that my stoneware NO bowl is in the chapbook. You can pick up a copy through above/ground press, and you should...because there is intriguing work therein. My contribution is a handbuilt stoneware bowl in the form of a coil and the word “NO,” which I also made from stoneware. I was thinking about craft, which is often dismissed as "women’s work," as if that is somehow pejorative, and often not considered to be art. I was thinking about resistance to this idea and resistance to women’s empowerment and creativity. I thought the call represented a celebration of feminist resistance to patriarchal dismissal and suppression of the force and creativity of imagination.

This is one of four imperfect pieces I submitted for consideration. They are cracked and chipped and made wrong. When I first started to take pottery workshops in the 90s, my instructor told me my work was charmingly uneven. I replied that this was much like my character. I think handmade work can resist this insistence on perfection and therefore show evidence of tender humanity. As T.J. Burnett said, “Perfection is a second-rate idea.”

and here are the other pieces from the series:

The Vispo Bible: Deuteronomy - completed

The Vispo Bible: Deuteronomy 34

I began Deuteronomy in May and have finally finished it (November 16, 2019). So far, only two of the chapters have been published Deuteronomy 2 by Page Fifty One and 34 here. 

I have completed 291 pages since I began the Vispo Bible in 2015, 7 chapters from the Old Testament and 8 from the New. All being well, I will start on Acts from the New Testament in the beginning of 2020. 

Thank you to all those who have published excerpts from the Vispo Bible, purchased chapbooks and broadsides and expressed interest and support in the project.

If you'd like more information, please feel free to contact me at amanda at amandaearl dot com.

not quite a palindrome, an homage to Sacha Archer's Redo in Arc Poetry Magazine's Issue 90

Page Fifty One publishes Deuteronomy 2

Thanks to Geoffrey Nilson of pagefiftyone in New Westminster, BC for publishing this piece from the Vispo Bible in an edition of 50 copies. I have some copies if you'd like one. They are 5 x 5 inches and this is fittingly micro-broadside # 5.

I began Deuteronomy in May and am at the 12th of 34 chapters of Deuteronomy.
Since June, 2015, I have completed a total of 269 pages from Old and New Testaments.
The Vispo Bible is a life's work to translate every book, every chapter, every verse of the Bible into visual poetry.

Not Your Best #1 Visual Poetry now available for pre-order from Knife Fork Book

thanks to the editor Eric Schmaltz for including pieces from the Vispo Bible and Knife Fork Book for publishing NYB 1. the anthology is now available for pre-order. click on the link to purchase.

bill dimichele

I was sad to learn that the visual poet, artist, poet, publisher bill dimichele had died on Sunday, August 4, 2019 at the age of 67. i knew bill as both a poet and a publisher. my small press, AngelHousePress published his work on NationalPoetryMonth.ca and in Experiment-O Issue 5. he also participated in the DevilHouse 6 interview, a series that explored the nature of transgression in creative work.

somehow, i don't remember when it happened or how, bill contacted me to participate in Tip of the Knife, his wonderful blog/site where published various writers and artists. he was always so welcoming and enthusiastic. i will never forget how much he welcomed me and encouraged me to play and be whimsical. For #15, i somehow misunderstood and thought he was doing a special issue on child art. i wasn't sure if i should contribute but the call inspired a series called Vizpo Kidz. He loved it.  In his introduction to the work, he wrote "I’ve seen a lot of Amanda’s work, and I’ve been happy to publish some; I always imagine the Angel creating her art out of laughter, lightheartedness and beautiful, whimsical energy.  Images made from inventive letter/picture coactions bring both amusement and sage excitement.  One of the most interesting aspects of these things is the titles, all twists on the pics - and who could not love titles like ‘Cinderella Snowflake’ and ‘Scuttling Sam Bones’?  Not everyone can make a crisp graphic work like Amanda can.  And no one else can put a head on it.

She may live in our newly constructed Age of Quasi Reason, but she’s not a slave to it the way some visual poets are, like those who construct little scientific systems devoid of soul and spirit.  Amanda may live in Candyland, but she knows how to tame the gum drops."

I was enchanted.  He published my attempts at autobiography as song titles in Issue 17. my earlier attempts at working with the alphabet in Issue 5 in 2011.

For Issue 11 from 2012, i was playing around with words, shapes. He wrote this about my work:

She has some cool space age themes going on with these pieces- simple so that our space voyager can take off with letters made of polished metal and plutonium retro rockets, excited to land, to spread new visual languages to the uninitiated aliens.  Amanda can do this, so I crown her Queen of the Universe.  These transformed glyphs are full of meaning to make the odyssey worthwhile.  Each page reveals a testament to exploration, fire and bravery.  Then there’s the piece about a crater where the ship has crashed, digging into the black extraterrestrial ground, exploding red astronaut blood which hovers above the surface in low gravity.  The red/black contrast itself is powerful enough to shatter the planet.  At first I thought 001 seed was outside the theme, but then I started thinking that some other  worldly race planted us and tended us.  Don’t look at me like that, it’s possible. 

I was so pleased to be part of Tip of the Knife, which introduced me or reacquainted me with fellow travellers of whimsy and gave me the opportunity to be read by the great bill dimichele, a kindred.

i end this post with a quote from his own contribution to Tip of the Knife 32, the final issue. 

This was when Billy first came unstuck in time.

His attention began to swing wildly through

the full arc of his life passing into death which

was violet light.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

rest in whimsy, fellow explorer. enjoy the violet light.

my condolences to his family, friends and all he's published and by published by. i will miss him. 

post-script, all being well a few best of issues of Tip of the Knife will be published and edited by Crag Hill. 

Concrete is Porous: Act 3 - Windsor, Ontario

the third exhibit for Concrete is Porous will take place at the Common Ground Gallery in Windsor, Ontario from May 28 to June 9, 2019.

I have two pieces in this show from the Vispo Bible: Genesis 2 and 34. If you are in Windsor, or area, I hope you'll check out the show, with readings taking place by the curators and Gustave Morin.

thank you once again to the organizers for including my work.

Starting Deuteronomy - the Vispo Bible

here's an intermediary step on the road to Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is in the Old Testament and has 34 books. Let's see how long it takes me to complete it. I've decided to have a palette of metalic gold text on a black background for this book. Not sure why. Something to do with Moses, I guess. Golden idols.

Matthew is complete and other updates for the Vispo Bible

Matthew 7

I began the Book of Matthew, 1st book in the New Testament in September, 2018 and completed it in May, 2019. There are 28 chapters.

For the first time, I had some stops and restarts and did several pieces over.

I finally got the right tone when I inverted the text and background to give the ghostliness that I always feel when I think about the life of Jesus, his resurrection etc.

As a child, i always felt like he was a ghost, a benevolent and sad ghost.

So far Matthew 5, 6 and 7 have been published in the Peter F. Yacht Club's VERSeFest 2019 issue.

I have submitted the Book of Matthew to a publisher to consider for publication as a book. I'll let you know what happens. I may stick with this inversion for a bit and do more.

Concrete is Porous Acts I and II, which exhibited in Toronto and Ottawa and featured two of my pieces from Revelation, is not over. Act III will take place in Windsor, Ontario for a month or so, starting at the end of May at the Common Ground Gallery. I have two pieces from Genesis in that show.

Thanks to those of you who've shown an interest in the project, published excerpts from it and bought chapbooks.

I began the Vispo Bible almost 4 years ago, starting in June, 2015. I have completed 6 books in the Old Testament and 8 in the New. Only 53 more books to go!

The Vispo Bible in Renegade

thanks to Andrew Topel for publishing John 1, Genesis 28, 29, 33 and 34 on Renegade.

Concrete is Porous

Concrete is Porous, a visual and concrete poetry show curated by Hart Broudy and bill bissett is now on tour. For the Toronto show, which ended in March, and the VERSeFest Ottawa show, which also just ended, my pieces Revelation 19 and 20 were included.

The show will now travel to Windsor, Calgary and possibly Sweden. To save money on shipping and insurance, I have been asked to offer smaller pieces. I will give two 10 x 10 inch, simpler pieces that aren't as dense because the density needs a high resolution. I will let you know which pieces end up in the touring show.

I am grateful to the curators who kindly included my visual poetry in the show and to Daniel Bradley who has been a key participant in making the show happen and helping out.

You can find out more about the show and see some of the pieces on tumblr.

photo credit: Renee Saklikar

The Vispo Bible: Numbers 3 and 26 now online

at talking about strawberries all the time. thanks to talking for including these pieces.

Romans now online from where is the river of Toronto

Thanks to Kiefer Logan of where is the river for publishing Romans as an online pdf chapbook.
i'm in fine company with chapbooks by rob mclennan and Michael Sikkema.
Take a read here: https://whereistheriver.blogspot.com/2018/11/chapbooks-november-2018-series-one.html

Revelation now available from Timglaset Editions of Sweden

Thank you to Joakim Norling of Timglaset Editions for publishing the latest addition to the Vispo Bible, Revelation, from the New Testament.

He has put great care and thought into the publication of this work, from the cover colour, which is the colour of the word "Revelation" to me (grapheme synaesthesia).

Here's a description from the Timglaset site:

Revelation is the seventh book to come out of Amanda Earl‘s (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) lifelong project, The Vispo Bible, translating the Bible to visual poetry. This book contains 22 visual pieces, each representing one chapter of The Book of Revelation, New Testament. The Vispo Bible is part of Amanda‘s general poetic practice of chance operations from the Dadaists and Jackson MacLow’s Light poems, cutting up, reshuffling, remixing existing sources – words, phrases, lyrics, titles, objects, geographical and psychological landscapes – to unlock fixed propaganda and repurpose it.

Amanda has grapheme synaesthesia where numbers, people’s first names, names of the month and week, and pain have colours. The cover of Revelation is bright orange and inside there is an explosion of colour, corresponding to the colours Amanda has assigned to words and phrases in the the text of The Book of Revelation. This book is in A4 format (297 x 210 mm), 28 pages and is printed in full colour on heavy high quality paper. The cover is in orange cardboard and hand-labelled with title an author name. The inlay is saddle stitched and the cover is rubber band bound. 60 copies were made. CAD 18, EUR 12, SEK 130. Postage costs will be added.

I consider this to be a huge milestone in my life as a poet and an artist. I can't thank Joakim/Timglaset Editions enough for this great work. To all the amazing and generous small press publishers who have been publishing the Vispo Bible, I am thrilled and grateful for the work you do and the work you have done with my Vispo Bible. This project is very important to me. 

You can purchase a copy here.

The Vispo Bible - the books of John 1, 2 and 3 now available from the Blasted Tree

Thanks to Kyle of the Blasted Tree for making this beautiful chapbook. You can order it here.

Publications from the Vispo Bible include

Ruth, Simulacrum Press, 2018, Hamilton, Ontario

Mark, above/ground press, 2018, Ottawa, Ontario

Esther, Puddles of Sky Press, 2017, Kingston, Ontario

Revelation 20, No Press, 2017, Calgary, Alberta

Leviticus XII, Penteract Press, 2017 UK

with Revelation forthcoming from Timglaset Press, Sweden, and Romans from where is the river, Toronto, Ontario.

Additional individual pieces have appeared in h&; our teeth, illiterature, Brave New Word (Ukraine), Dreamland Magazine, untethered, Ustanga.it,  Chaudiere Books NPM 2018, and ToCall Magazine in Germany, and are forthing coming in not your best visual poetry from knife fork book.

Revelation 19 and 20 will be exhibited as part of the Concrete is Pourous show in Toronto between November 3, 2018 and February 26, 2019 at the Secret Handshake Gallery, and will move to the Common Ground Gallery in Windsor afterward.

Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council 2018 Recommender Grant for Writers program for funding part of the creation of the Vispo Bible this year.

Amanda Earl’s visual poetry has been exhibited in Canada, Brazil and Russia, and published in the last vispo: anthology: visual poetry 1998-2008 (Fantagraphics, 2012), Of the Body, (Puddles of Sky Press, 2012), Bone Sapling, a collaboration with Gary Barwin, (AngelHousePress, 2014), a field guide to fanciful bugs, (avantacular press, 2010),  Montparnasse: this is visual poetry, (chapbook publisher, 2010) and in the magazines, untethered (2017) and dreamland (2016). Amanda's visual poetry also appears in online journals, Brave New Word, Angry Old Man, Ustanga, h&, Our Teeth otoliths, tip of the knife, ffooom, the new post literate, Logalia.com, DrunkenBoat, and the Bleed. Gary Barwin gave a lovely write up of Amanda's visual poetry on Jacket2, "What kind of [sic] sense is that?: Amanda Earl & the synaesthesia of reading" (June, 2013). For more vispo, please visit EleanorIncognito.blogspot.ca.

The Book of Ruth - Now available from Simulacrum Press

Thanks to Sacha Archer of Simulacrum Press for publishing the Book of Ruth.

You can order a copy here.

Publications from the Vispo Bible include

Mark, above/ground press, 2018, Ottawa, Ontario

Esther, Puddles of Sky Press, 2017, Kingston, Ontario

Revelation 20, No Press, 2017, Calgary, Alberta

Leviticus XII, Penteract Press, 2017 UK

with John forthcoming from the Blasted Tree, Calgary, Alberta; Romans from where is the river, Toronto, Ontario and Revelation from Timglaset Press, Sweden.

Additional individual pieces have appeared in h&; our teeth, illiterature, Brave New Word (Ukraine), Dreamland Magazine, untethered, Ustanga.it,  Chaudiere Books NPM 2018, and are forthcoming from a small magazine in Germany, and not your best visual poetry from knife fork book. 

Revelation 19 and 20 will be exhibited as part of the Concrete is Pourous show in Toronto between November 3, 2018 and February 26, 2019 at the Secret Handshake Gallery, and will move to the Common Ground Gallery in Windsor afterward.

If you'd like more information about the Vispo Bible, please read my essay The Vispo Bible: One Woman Recreates the Bible as Visual Poetry presented as part of Kanada Koncrete Material Poetries in the Digital Age, University of Ottawa, May 4-6, 2018. 

I am currently working on Matthew from the New Testament.

Thank you to the Ontario Arts Council 2018 Recommder Grant for Writers program for funding part of the creation of the Vispo Bible this year.

Eileen Tabios reviews the Book of Mark

Eileen R. Tabios wrote this wonderful review of the Book of Mark (above/ground press, 2018). Much thanks to Eileen! You can pick up a copy of the chapbook here

The Vispo Bible - Numbers - completed

I began Numbers in May 2017 and it took me 11 months to complete it. It's not that it's that large at 36 chapters, i was just doing other things. Some of the chapters were long with over 50 verses.

All 36 chapters of Numbers will be on display/for sale at the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair on Saturday, June 23 at the Jack Purcell Community Centre from noon to five pm with the proceeds going to Cornerstone Housing for Women. If you can't come by, please feel free to make a donation to Cornerstone and I will mail you something (chapbook, broadside, book) by way of appreciation.

Thanks to the Ontario Arts Council for funding part of this work in 2018.

The Vispo Bible - artist's talk at Kanada Koncrete

on May 5, 2018 as part of Kanada Koncrete, Material Poetries in the Digital Age, a symposium at the University of Ottawa, I gave an artist's talk entitled "The Vispo Bible: One Woman Recreates the Bible as Visual Poetry."

I've posted the talk on the AngelHousePress essay series here. And you can see the work that I've done so far on the Vispo Bible here.

Thanks to the Ontario Arts Council for funding part of  this project this year and to Coach House Books for the Recommender Grant.