dom sylvester houédard
dom sylvester houédard (1924-1992) was a Benedictine monk and a highly influential figure among 20th century British concrete poets. houédard experimented with the typewriter as both a technological instrument and as a means for meditation. As in the chapbook like contemplation..., the page becomes a space for elaborating geometric forms that suggest abstraction and transcendence. While dsh's poems, like concrete poetry more generally, emphasize the physicality of the page and writing technologies, the work simultaneously suggests the immateriality of thought, reaching beyond that which is immediately present. To this extent, dsh's "typestracts" resemble and echo the designs of illuminated manuscripts, especially those of the Celtic tradition, which foreground geometric forms instead of figural representation. His work appeared through various chapbooks, journals, and other small press publications throughout the second half of the 20th century.
