Johanna Drucker, USA
The History of the/my Wor(l)d (1995)
A striking alternative to the familiar telling of historical events. Drucker’s account of mythic and major moments in the course of western civilization marches roughshod over received traditions. This works combines references and irreverence, humour and insight, poetic language and an eclectic imagination. The combination of typographic innovation, visual puns, and linguistic play are unique elements of Drucker’s style. A richly suggestive work interweaving official history and individual memory. Printed offset in two colours on Warren’s lustro dull, casebound and with a letterpress dust jacket. Based on the Druckwerk letterpress edition of 1990. 40 pp. 28.9 x 21.9 cm. Edition of 1000. Granary Books, New York.
The Word Made Flesh (1996)
Calling attention to the visual materiality of the text, this book attempts to halt linear reading, trapping the eye in a field of letters which make a complex object on the page. The writing refers continually to the visceral character of language, literalizing metaphors of tongue, breath, and flesh. The work both embodies and discusses language as a physical form, one whose properties cannot be ignored by arriving at a disembodied content. Offset facsimile in two colours on Mohawk superfine, handbound, with two-colour letterpress covers by the author. 24 pp. 26.7 x 31.6 cm. Granary Books, New York.