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• 1 2016-12-05T16:01:53-08:00 Rereading Un Coup de Des 16 gallery 2016-12-12T06:44:06-08:00 Stephane Mallarme was a huge proponent of the mobility of the letter in combination with the reader to make the book become a spiritual object. For further reading on Mallarme’s belief in the spiritual instrument both his own work “About the book” and Johanna Drucker’s The Century of Artists’ Books are excellent selections.
   
  To quote Mallarme: “[Our consciousness] joins the book now here, now there, varies its melodies, guesses its riddles, and even re-creates it unaided” (Drucker p. 36). When looking at his work Un coup de des it’s clear that Mallarme aids the reader by providing a landscape rich in visual choices. Both shape and font link ideas and provide visual meaning to his poem.
   
  Look first thing at his choice in fonts; they each carry across the pages to create isolated phrases of similar text. The presentation of the page compels us to consider the text as a whole, but changes in font help focus on specific ideas.  On page 7 in the top right corner, the imagery of a “solitary distraught feather” is immediately established with the smaller font in relation to the previous page. As well the italics give a feeling of drifting – much different than the straight text of “memorable crisis” on page 10.  Further, on page 8 the collection of words linked by font share the same theme – “evaporated in mists”, “ a delicate tenebrous stature”, “in its siren twists”,  all similarly floating along the page in italics.
   
  Shape and font interplay in multiple ways as well.  Consider how font can change the shape of the reading as well. First compare the step-like shape on page 6 with that on page 3. The italics change the fluidity of the reading, causing the text to visually roll off the tongue. This is a very different feeling from the abrupt steps of “blanched”, “unbound” and “furious”. How would it feel if it were switched
   
  Blanched                                                         enrolled with irony
              Unbound                                                         or
                          Furious                                                            the mystery
   
  The other effect font has is recreating the shape by seemingly making unrelated text invisible. For example on page 9 in the top right quadrant there are at least 3 obvious readings. With two fonts the lines can be separated or read together.
  “THE NUMBER
  WERE IT TO EXIST
  WERE IT TO BEGIN AND END
  WERE IT TO BE COUNTED
  WERE IT TO ILLUMINATE”
  or
  “other than as a scattered hallucination of dying
  rising only to be denied and closed off when revealed
  at last
  by some thinly spread profusion
  evidence of the sum however small”
  or read both together
  
  This change in reading creates multiple narratives without changing the physical order of words on the page. More, it allows for reader input to create each of these new stories. Even independent of font, the shape of the reading changes the meaning based on the path the reader chooses. For English readers (and French) we are pulled left to right and top to bottom on the page. The primary way Mallarme has broken our expectations is by breaking the barrier the gutter creates. With the option then to follow the traditional reading down the verso side then recto, or to cross the gutter, the reader is faced by yet another narrative-deciding choice. Marcel Broodthaer's work is a excellent abstraction of the shape of the poem, and can be used to visualize the layout's affect.
   
  Overall, Un coup de des creates multiple narrative paths that weave meaning fluidly together, inseparable if the reader so chooses, but also with distinct themes when isolated.
   
  Lets contrast the fluidity of this reading with the distinct crossovers of Joanna Drucker’s History of the/my wor(l)d
  
  For another reading on Un coup de des check out this page.
• 1 2016-12-03T10:29:40-08:00 Un Coup De Des par Stephane Mallarme 14 gallery 2016-12-09T08:28:48-08:00 By Carol Tran 
  Un Coup De Des (A Throw of the Dice), by Stephane Mallarme is a tumultuous, discombobulating poem (written in 1897) that takes you on a literal and figurative journey on a ship. I want you to take a couple of these questions into consideration as you throw the dice and read this. What do you think is happening? Are there certain words that you notice first, why is that? There may be specific words that you are drawn to, why do you think this is? What kind of imagery is going on in your mind? 
  
  The French version is displayed first, and the English translation follows it. 
  
  Tweet using #takeyourpick2016 about what you thought this poem was about!
  
  After you're done, read the explanation below, and tell me if it aligned with your thoughts in the comments. 
  
  Mallarme says that A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance. Did you catch that? Those were all of the capitalized bolded words that were strewn throughout the poem. Mallarme's poem relates to the motif of choice in this exhibit due to his typography. He deliberately bolds some words, italicizes others, and minimizes or maximizes font sizes. Throughout this poem, you, the reader, is actively engaging in the text by picking and choosing which words you are drawn to first and which words you want to read first. There sometimes appears to be no right or wrong way to being the poem and no consistent order either. However, due to his use of typography, Mallarme's visuals remain the same.  A lot of the imagery involves the sea, shipwreck, constellations, and shadows conveying themes of a journey of individual understanding. For example, page 9 of the poem confuses you upon looking at it. Should you read horizontally or vertically? Do all the words of the same type correlate? How do you decide if you should shift right in the middle of page? Should you keep reading down, or do you start reading horizontally because that particular sentence makes more sense? "Anxious expiatory and pubescent mute laughter..." makes more sense than "Anxious expiatory and pubescent mute laughter The lucid and seigniorial aigrette" but the "seigniorial aigrette" portion makes more sense reading vertically than horizontally. The message of "A Throw of the Dice Will Never Abolish Chance" is noticed because of its typography. Mallarme has manipulated these messages to get a meaning across and thereby allows the reader to more closely interact with the text and make their own choices just as he says with "A Throw of the Dice will Never Abolish Chance". In arranging the text the way he does, he does not abolish chance - the reader is able to choose the path that they take to glean the story. However, Mallarme cleverly situates imagery throughout the poem and manipulates certain words so that the reader is more inclined to choose a certain path so he exerts some degree of control over the reader's choices. 
  
  Mallarme's "Coup de Des" is the first step in this chronological quest of the evolution of the book. The codex form uses a traditional left to right reading pattern in standard type. Mallarme was one of the first thinkers of his time to think about altering the left to right pattern that individuals are so used to. He invites readers to interact physically with the text, expanding their interpretation of the work rather than just having them read the poem in a stereotypical straight pattern. 
  
  BONUS! To hear a reading of the French original of Mallarme, click here.
  How does it feel to hear the words? Tweet your thoughts using the hashtag!
  
  Media citation: French version from (Stephane Mallarme, 1897, "Un Coup de Des")
  English translation from (UbuWeb, 2005, "A Throw of the Dice")