Forum / help:forgot name of obscure writer

• 
  eamon byrne

  May 02, 05:02am

  Can anyone help me. There's a very obscure writer, American I think, from the thirties I think. This guy was totally way out - radical. Crazy some might say. He wrote books where a single letter would just fill page after page. Basically just pages of permutations of typographical symbols or word patterns.

• 
  Matt Dennison

  May 02, 07:31am

  Kenneth Patchen?

• 
  Marc Nash

  May 02, 05:39pm

  Dunno, but sounds like my kinda writer.

  Georges Perec wrote an entire novel without the use of a single letter 'E'. ironic given there are several in his name.

• 
  eamon byrne

  May 02, 11:33pm

  I was thinking for a while of Harry Mathews. But it's not him. It's someone really obscure and weird who writes stuff which looks like this - the online first page of terry jones' alphabetical ordering of every word in his novel 'starship titanic' (adapted from douglas adams).

  000 000 000

  000

  "1 1 10?" 10 1000 11 12 12, 13 13 132 14 15 16 16 17 18 180 19 2 2 2 20. "21! 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 3 3!"
  3278 35 36 4 40 40 400 "45" 5 50 6 6 6 6 6 6 6. 60 60 60 7 70 78 8 8 8.30 80 "8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D 8D", 8D 8G 9 96 96 96 96 "96". 96 96 991 992 993 997 998 "999 9A", a a a a a A a a a a a A a a a a a a a. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a A a a, a a a a a a a a a a, a a a A.
  a a a a a a a A a 'a a' a a a a "a a a a" a a a a A a a a a a a a a. a, a a a a a.

  _______

  "a a a?" a a a a a, a a a a a a a a a a A a, "a A a a a a."
  a A a a a a a a a a a. A a A a a a a a a a A a A a a, a a a a a a a a a a a a. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a, a a a a a a a a a a a a a a.
  a a a a a, a a a a a a a a. a a a a a a a a A a a a a a 'a-a' a a a.
  "a, a a a a a a a, a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a A a a A a a a a. a, a a a a, a a a a. a a a a a, a a, a a a a a a - a a A a a - a a a a a a a A a a, a a a a a. a a-a a a a a a a a a a 'a-a a' a."
  a a a a. a a a a a a a a A a a a a a a a a a a a 'a-a' a a a a a a. a a, a a, a a a a. a a a a a a a a a-a a a a a a a a. a, a a, a a a.
  a a a, a a a a a a a a a, a a a a a a a a a a a a a a A a A A, a a a a a a a. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a A a a a a A a a a a 'a a' a. a a a A a a a a a a a a a.*

  a a A a a a.

  "a a a a a a a a a a a," A A a a a a A a a a A a a A. "a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a, a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a. A a, a a, a a-a a a, a a a a a a a a a-a a a a a a A a a, A a a a a a a a a a "a a a a A", a a a a a a a a a-a a a a a A A A a a a a a a a a a-a-a....a a a a a a a...a"a a?...a a a a a, a A a a a a a a a! a a a a a a. a a a a a a a a . . . a a a a a a a a a...a a-a! a a?"
  a a a a a a a a, a a a a a a, a a a a a a a, a a a a a a

  *a a a a a a-a 'A a' a a a a a a a, a a a a a a a a a. a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a. a a a a a a a a a, a a a a a a a A-a 'a-a' a a a a a a a a-a a a a. a a A a, a 'a-a' a a a a a a a a, a a a a a, a a a a A a a a a a a a a a a a.

  (and that's just page 1)

• 
  Ann Bogle

  May 03, 01:14am

  Eamon, could it be Bern Porter? I've passed your question on to mIEKAL aND. That was his first idea. He wrote that there were lettrists at work in the 40s and 50s.

• 
  eamon byrne

  May 03, 05:54am

  Ann you are amazing. That's exactly who it is. I originally came across his work on UBUWEB. The piece that stuck in my mind was 468BThyFuture. It's composed entirely of computer code from printouts at the Manhattan Project, where he worked. It's quite amazing. I started to think about all this when I read Marc Lowe's story 'RE[a]D'. In it he has the narrator looking through a book filled with blank pages. That got me to thinking of oulipo writing, and then this. Matt also almost hit on it when he mentioned Kenneth Patchen - who of course Porter would have known well. Interestingly enough, google was useless in solving this little mystery, as no amount tapping in 'experimental', 'avant-garde' etc turned up the name porter. So as you can imagine I'm stoked. I spent hours on this. And you solve it like clicking your fingers. This site has paid for itself right here.

• 
  Marc Nash

  May 03, 06:50am

  I have an unpubbed novel bookended by a page of DNA coding

• 
  Ann Bogle

  May 04, 10:32am

  Eamon, so happy the network worked to answer the question and reward your time. Visit Xexoxial Editions at xexoxial.org for more on Bern Porter:
  http://www.xexoxial.org/is/books/by/bern_porter

• 
  Bill Yarrow

  May 04, 09:19pm

  Bern Porter was a good friend of Henry Miller.

• 
  Ann Bogle

  May 19, 08:48am

  Eamon, more information about Bern Porter via U of Buffalo Poetics Listserv:

  "Rachael Morrison, MoMA curator of their current Bern Porter Lost & Found Exhibit, has posted a write-up of the Bern Porter event at Esopus on April 22. There's audio of Dan Domench's and Kenneth Goldsmith's performances of and about Bern Porter, and a video excerpt from my new 35-minute film about Bern, JOY GLOWS WHERE CONFUSION WAS."

  --Mark Melnicove

  http://www.moma.org/explore/inside_out/2010/05/12/lost-and-found-an-evening-with-bern-porter/#more-6074

• 
  eamon byrne

  May 20, 12:49am

  Thanks for that link Ann. I checked it out. I'd previously downloaded some of Porter's stuff from Ubuweb. My interest in the man is mainly due to the way he approaches the book as a conceptual art piece rather than as a literary text. His work strikes me as quite minor but incredibly weird. Being a big fan of nerdy stuff, it got my attention when I stumbled across his 468Bthyfuture by chance a few years ago.

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