This book consists of a collection of essays in its first half written with a highly academic approach to performance. Its second half features experimental writing and layout. Thus, it begins with an essay by Campbell Tatham, " Mythology and Postmodern Fictions: Magic is Afoot," a work characterized as a "verbal" performance by the editors. It is printed with a typewriter font and includes several shaped texts. Another "verbal" performance using the same approach along with concrete poems is found in the essay contributed by Raymond Federman, "Voices within Voices." Finally, Ihab Hassan provides an experimental drama in his essay, "Prometheus as Performer: Toward a Posthumanist Culture?" -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

The cover and illustrations in the text were done by Tom Phillips. The book is an anthology of previously published poems, e.g., White Sun Black Sun, Between, Sightings & Further Sightings, Poland/1931, etc. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Almost all of this anthology is devoted to linear poetry with the following exceptions: 1) Stepjane Mallarme's concrete poem, "Cette Adorable Bague" (1866) on page 684, 2)William Blake's "Laocoon," a calligraphic picture pom on page 709, 3) Shaker visionary drawings (1843) on pages 710-711, 4) Edward Lear's callgraphic visual poems (1864), on oage 713, 5) Lewis Carroll's shaped calligraphic poem, "A Mouse" on page713 and 6) Apollinaire's concrete poem, "The Bleeding Heart..." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Almost all of this anthology is devoted to linear poetry with the following exceptions: 1) Stepjane Mallarme's concrete poem, "Cette Adorable Bague" (1866) on page 684, 2)William Blake's "Laocoon," a calligraphic picture pom on page 709, 3) Shaker visionary drawings (1843) on pages 710-711, 4) Edward Lear's callgraphic visual poems (1864), on oage 713, 5) Lewis Carroll's shaped calligraphic poem, "A Mouse" on page713 and 6) Apollinaire's concrete poem, "The Bleeding Heart..." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

This extensive poetry anthology has brief comments that accompany each poem. It includes an English translation of Cendrars and Delaunay's 'The Prose of the Trans-Siberian and of Little Jeanne of France,' a work held in the original by the Sackner Archive. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

This extensive poetry anthology has brief comments that accompany each poem. It includes an English translation of Cendrars and Delaunay's 'The Prose of the Trans-Siberian and of Little Jeanne of France,' a work held in the original by the Sackner Archive. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

The cover design depicts a page of Tom Phillips' A Humument. This extensive poetry anthology has brief comments that accompany some of the poems, -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

The cover design depicts a page of Tom Phillips' A Humument. There are brief comments that accompany some of the poems in this extensive poetry anthology. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Kurt Schwitters has written, "I pasted words and sentences together into poems in such a way that their rhythmic composition created a kind of drawing. The other way around, I pasted together pictures and drawings containing sentences that demand to be read. I drove nails into pictures in such a way that besides the pictorial effect a plastic relief effect arose. I did this in order to erase the boundaries between the arts." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

This volume is the first collection of Rothenberg's poetic writings and includes ideas and excerpts from his books and essays. Rothenberg indicates that Abulalfia (1240-c.1291) himself writes of the abstracting/spiritualizing process which he then employs & by which the world is apprehended as language/sound: "Know that the method of tseruf (the combination of letters) can be compared to music; for the ear hears sounds from various combinations,in accordance with the character of the melodu & the instrument. In touch with yogic currents fgrom the East, Abulafia's intention was mantric, but his practice of a systemic & concrete poetry also closely resembles the 20th century Lettrisme of Isidore Isou, the asymmetries & nuclei of Jackson Mac Low & the blues Kabbalah improvisions of Jack Hirschman, all of whom he may have influenced. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Jerome Rothenberg wrote the introduction and Mac Low supplied notes throughout the book that documented the varied works. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Jerome Rothenberg wrote the introduction and Mac Low supplied notes throughout the book that documented the varied works. The handwritten poem on the last two pages of the book, "Ruth and Marvin Sackner," spells out the namesby a diastatic-chance method by drawing words from this book by placement of the names. For example, the first line of the poem is righteous number out nothing is obtained as follows. Righteous (page 18), nUmber (page 21), ouT (page 20), notHing (page 8). The page numbers correspond toplaces of the required letters in the alphabet: the words in stanza 1, from "018"; 2 from "118," etc. Mac Low has also handwritten a list of errata near the title page. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

In this anthology, Rothenberg draws implicit attention to several individuals who composed concrete poems that andedated those of Gomringer and the Noigandres group such as Bob Brown, ee cummings, Marsden Hartley, and Kenneth Patchen. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

In this anthology, Rothenberg draws implicit attention to several individuals who composed concrete poems that andedated those of Gomringer and the Noigandres group such as Bob Brown, ee cummings, Marsden Hartley, and Kenneth Patchen. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

This book includes "14 Stations, a poem that joins the concise verbal techniques of gematria (traditional Hebrew numerology) with the stark agonies of the Holocaust." -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Andy Warhol designed the cover that consists of a yellow and black silkscreen, gummed, perforated, 12 stamps sheet entitled "Bomb Hanoi." Also, this issue has a photograph of a facing pages paste-up by Jess. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.

Cover was designed by George Maciunas. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.