| GLYPH #1 | GLYPH #2 | GLYPH #3 | GLYPH #4 |
| Sl- i de 2(cide) &fit with tab 'n slottle skin- ny little things nobs &throttle dang- ling smooth shim- mering light ly, slight- ly el- on- gated taffy shapes slippery sur- face 2- es2 es- sential- ly playful parts with soulful reach may chatter clatter on de 2- parture. |
 |
-im
2
si- -licate thin wisp of marble-- scrap burst into sun flower swirl, bionic slick, lionic leap, tall grass plains on pads on paws sly grace(ful) -shy- hidden -emental spaces chases <green> rosin icebergs of national -real art > to face < -tablished (-)thetic instance of -ric metrical squeaking near-human voices wrenching speech, (in terra cotta) clip-clop feet ledge(r) -main |
|
-aginary
-ll(y)ama kangaroos platypus, protean tricks cyclopean vistas set on stems, in straw &swizzle sticks laconic zoo buildings with ovoid heads 'n tails until the pounce, the coup -- euroart -- hand-made. kitsch; swept into bins of shifting plowed sand shadow masters ride shotgun showdown scornful- zen-bloomed macho voiced western norm-hyped rodeo clowns replaced by circustry, cut stone carves adios tears plow along into travels with clay |
|
end
where we begin of course a comedy of gesture art eyes can see in vibrant fun wobbly legs to stand alone on universal harmonies of morphing singing polished brass, temple bells, mantras rattling, weeping nature placed, undressed redressed as earthenware -- magical spattered light -- electric fashions bent into songs of city - on the wall's graffiti messaged in paint, narcissus nostrums, rostrums for healing through earthly relations to-his-deity in just-so space rough or smooth begin where we will end. |
General Information on 'Textumorphs' :
1. Textumorphs are related poems (glyphs) placed adjacent
to one another.
2. Textumorphs interlock at specific locations (directives)
- Perfect Textumorphs - may read horizontally left-to-right at any line to the next right-adjacent glyph as well as utilize any directives supplied.
- Imperfect Textumorphs - utilize directives for interlocking glyphs but do not necessarily read horizontally at every line.Multipathway readings are often possible and should be tried.
The Noguchi Textumorph is imperfect but with considerable horizontal
option.
3. Allignment of lines. Textumorphs are not random, therefore
alignment of adjacent glyphs is important. Different browsers/fonts
may give altered line relations) It is helpful to first read the
individual works (glyphs) from top to bottom through. This may
require some back-linking for left-hyphenated terms, etc.
- Textumorph directives.
- 'abc-' The Hyphen is the primary linking tool. A single right-hyphen is treated normally. It means combine the preceeding term with the next term on the following line and then continue in the primary (or sometimes secondary) glyph.
- '-abc' A left-hyphen indicates one is to link the hyphenated root with the remaining term on the same line in the left-adjacent glyph. Whether the appended term is to be prefixed or postfixed, and which part constitutes the term are sometimes matters of common sense and a little trial and error.
- '=' The double-hyphen indicates that one is to move to the glyph from which the appended term was taken. That is, one is rerouted to a new glyph.
- '<term' or 'term>' The 'go-to' directs one to
leave the current glyph and go to the adjacent glyph. One may
re-enter that glyph when a return directive, '>term' or 'term<'
permits moving back. It may be that some areas of a glyph can
be completely circumvented from reading. An interesting device
which allows for text in a work that its intended to be noticed
obliquely, but not directly read.
Such is the case in 'Glyph #2' where gotos and returns carefully take us away from mentioning the critic who did the hatchet job on Noguchi and helped drive him, once again, from his home. It is arguable whether the result was to the good or ill. But Greenberg's jingoism certainly earns him careful circumvention here.
- '^' and '\/' The caret indicates that one should hyphenate at the preceding or succeeding line in the adjacent glyph.
- Hyphen # Hyphen number indicates the repetition of a hyphen or caret etc. directing one to move that number of glyphs or lines. E.g '- -term' indicates one should go two glyphs to the left to find the remainder of the term to combine. 'term- -' indicates one locate the apendable at the adjacent right-glyph (since a single right-hyphen would indicate the current glyph).
- Parens Parens are used in a number of ways. Generally they show the direction and part of a word that is to be associated with a given directive. E.g. the glyph lines 'de)licious -licate' might indicate that 'de' is the associated term and should be combined to form 'delicate'. Context and common sense should govern.
- Superscript is used to indicate a link term may be employed twice, once by directive the other by itself, for instance. 'licate2' in glyph #2 suggest a text of 'I'm delicate, silicate thin wisp of…'
- Caesura - Textumorphs may often need to dispense with
commas, and other grammatical directives simply because they interfere
with certain links or horizontal readings (creating sense in one
direction and opposing it in another). For that reason, most such
'performance' punctuation is omitted from textuglyphs.
Above all, textumorphs are fun. Enjoy them, keep their parts oiled
and mobile, and they should provide many years of loyal service.
On Morphed Performance:
Once one gains the general possibilities and use of metatextual
directive, performance becomes a kind of free meander through
the various routes and structures (not dissimilar to the way the
eye and experience travel over a Noguchi biomorph). In an 'imperfect
textumorph' such excursions are at the reader's risk, and crashes
should be expected until one gets fluent in a particular set of
glyphs. After that, the imperfections of the glyph become noticeable
and the glyph, itself, begins to show unmistakeable signs of wear &
tear. It may be discarded at that time. Textumorphs may or may not
be made of entirely non-toxic material. If in doubt, refer to the appropriate
OSHA bulletins or consult a local word-disposal specialist in your area.
Pointing towards theory
Strictly &loosely speaking, these are not simple random chance
or cutup trials like those of Cage, Mellarme, Corso, etc. There
is no attempt here to dissociate from the fierce dominating influence of
the intellect or achieve the pristine political moonscape of the de-con-struct-ivist
manifestos so much in fashion these days. Textumorphs prefer a little messiness
in their brief lifetimes. They are rather designed to merely let the mind play over a
controlled field until something even the work could not anticipate emerges. More
like chaotic redundancies thrown somewhere near a region of strange-attractors;
they eventually begin to whirlpool into their new patterns. In actuality, Textumorphs
apply the same kinds of tropes, transformations and other devices when we proceed
line by line in an ordinary poem. Closure devices that create linkage (refrains, restatement,
echo, alliterative recall, etc.) are, indeed, a straight forward
linkage of the time-frame which a textumorph may employ. There are
seemingly endless varieties and shapes of textumorphs and much
unexplored ground to be investigated.
. . .
origin of the species ---->
. . .
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