Famous for his poetics of extreme constraint, conceptualist Christian Bök reworks the famous anti-fascist sentiments of Martin Niemöller into a politically-charged lipogram by systematically eliminating more and more vowels from each line of his poem. VWLS is presented as a limited edition of 10" x 4" cardstock leaflets, 60 copies in circulation, available now from The Blasted Tree Store.
Poetry Poster - CXXVIII by Sonnet L'Abbé
Produced as part of the Dream Islands group exhibition featured by the Nanaimo Art Gallery (July 21 - September 17, 2017), "CXXVIII" responds to the work of late Salt-Spring Island-based potter Lari Robson in Sonnet L'Abbé's signature style. In this "ecolonization," Shakespeare's 128th sonnet (represented below in orange text) is invaded and fleshed out by the poet, an "erasure-by-crowding" that becomes a formal analogy for colonization. An edition of 700 18" x 24" poster were made for the NAG exhibition, where copies will be made available for free, however if you don't happen to visit Nanaimo this summer, posters can be purchased from The Blasted Tree Store for merely the price of shipping!
READ CXXVIII
Graphic Narrative - PUFFERFISH by Bea Keeler
The Blasted Tree's first graphic narrative, PUFFERFISH is an honest accounting of anxiety, depression, and their impact on personal relationships. Bea Keeler, who both wrote and illustrated the comic, sensitizes readers to the inner world of an introvert without letting her character off the hook for hypocrisy or laziness, parsing mental health issues on behalf of those who don't suffer from them. 50 limited edition copies of the comic are now available from The Blasted Tree Store.
READ PUFFERFISH
Poetry Leaflet - A pistol smuggled in typhus by derek beaulieu
Written after Arthur Rimbaud's Voyelles, A pistol smuggled in typhus embraces the sinister, the macabre, and the ugly side of language. In this, derek beaulieu's second contribution to our poetry lineup, vowels are made foul, and death germinates a new form of life, born of decay. Printed on grey cardstock, limited edition copies of beaulieu's 4.25" x 9" poetry leaflet can be found now in The Blasted Tree Store.
Read A pistol smuggled in Typhus
Multi-media Feature - Notes on the Sign of Poetry by Sacha Archer
Journal excerpts + Image Gallery
A multi-media exploration of the limits of poetry and legibility, Sacha Archer continues to push boundaries with this collection of astounding poetry, journal excerpts, and supplementary material. In addition to these digital notes and drawings, we have produced a series of broadsides featuring selections from Archer's experimental visual poetry and his addendum to the work. 50 limited-edition sets of broadsides are available now from The Blasted Tree Store.
Read Notes on the sign of poetry
Featured Interview - May G N
We sat down with Alberta-based print media artist and Blasted Tree contributor May G N to talk art and life in Calgary's queer community. May lends us razor-sharp insight into digital print-making, political engagement, and the demystification of gender, discussing how these pursuits fit into our anxiety-inducing contemporary context. Featuring images from May's impressive creative oeuvre, check out this interview for a closer look at one of Alberta's most fascinating young artists.
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Poetry Chapbook - how to make an English exam interesting by Jordan Bolay
As the author's note states: this semi-found poem was written during the mid-term exam of English 302, “Introduction to Contemporary Theoretical Practices.” Composed spontaneously into an extra examination blue book, Jordan Bolay's chapbook project is an experiment in embodied poetics. To produce it, six scribes copied Jordan's original poem into blank examination books by hand, layering a diversity of penmanship over the organic foundation of Bolay's original composition. Read the project online, then drop by The Blasted Tree's Store to get your hands on a limited edition copy of this one-of-a-kind poetry project.
READ HOW TO MAKE AN ENGLISH EXAM INTERESTING
Poetry Leaflet - Radioactivity by Ken Hunt
Radioactivity, one of three new Blasted Tree poems by Ken Hunt, celebrates the life and work of Marie Curie; chemist, physicist, and winner of two Nobel prizes. In this poem, Hunt expertly draws our attention to the atomic punishment exacted on Curie's body in the pursuit of her discoveries. A limited edition of 50 folded leaflets, 5.5" x 7", is now available from The Blasted Tree's store.
READ RADIOACTIVITY
Two further poems by Hunt can be read on The Blasted Tree's website, BELOW OKLO and PLUTONIUM VALLEY, and can be found in our "Poetry by Author" section. Each of these three poems speaks to issues surrounding the discovery and exploitation of atomic energy, a topic Hunt explores in his Manhattan Project manuscript.
FLASH HAIKU - Ryan Tellier
The winner of The Blasted Tree's Flash Haiku Contest, held on Facebook last Monday, is Ryan Tellier! We've published his haiku into 2.5" x 2.5" mini-leaflets in a limited run of 60 copies. Ryan's poem jumped out for its simplicity and gentle humor, faithfulness to traditional haiku (in spirit if not in syllable), and its surprising turn. A great haiku that bears up to playful contemplation!
BUY FLASH HAIKU: RYAN TELLIER MINI-LEAFLET
Poetry Leaflet - Plumpump by psw
Our latest addition to The Blasted Tree's line of printed media, this 3.25" x 5" folded leaflet features the visual poem Plumpump by German artist and printmaker, psw. Plumpump is a dry-transfer work of typography strung together like strands of symbolic DNA, organized alphabetically and nonsensically. 50 limited edition copies of the accordion-style leaflet are now available from The Blasted Tree's store.