Paper Voices: Exploring the Role of Typefaces in Poetry
Marisa A. Gearin
Dr. James D'Agostino, Faculty Mentor
From the earliest illuminated manuscripts to the billboards of modern-day advertising executives, it is clear that a message's presentation plays a role in its meaning. Typefaces have an impact on the way words are read; it may be a less dramatic impact than that of other stylistic tools such as concrete poetry, but its effect can be almost insidious thanks to its subtlety. This project will concern a number of poems I have written on a variety of topics, presented in different fonts to explore how typefaces affect readers' perception of a poem. My work will be informed by the writing of others who have played with visual representation of language, including Marian Bantjes' book I Wonder and Apollinaire's Calligrammes.
Keywords: Poetry, Typefaces, Visual language
Topic(s):English
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 204-3
Location: MG 1098
Time: 11:30