For Object Poems Exhibition at 23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, Oregon, November 2011 Pieces of an Asemic Poem Discovered in My Garden in July of 2011 (2011). NFS. Description: Ten pieces (seven ceramic, one rusted metal, one stone, and one plastic), which must be arranged for presentation. Roughly five inches in diameter when arranged in a circle. Unique. Packaging: Each piece wrapped in tissue paper and stored in a plastic bag, the entire contents being stored in a small cardboard box that is marked with the name of the poem. Fragility: The ceramic pieces can break and the metal nail may lose some metal if roughly handled, but these pieces are generally more resilient than most of these poems. Creation: 16 July 2011, Schenectady, New York

Object Poems by Geof Huth

1

FlYy (2011). NFS. Description: Four pieces, each of them a thin branching twig generally resembling a character in the Latin alphabet. This poem also serves as the last section of the environmental poem, Corn Snow Poem (http://365ltrs.blogspot.com/2011/03/296-corn-snow-poem.html). Roughly 17 inches by 15 inches when arranged. Unique. Packaging: Each piece wrapped in bubble wrap and stored loose but securely in a cardboard shoebox marked with the name of the poem. An image of the poem in its first installation (the same as the one below) is stored in the box as well. Fragility: These pieces are all quite fragile, but they should be able to be easily unrolled from their bubble wrap without damage to them. Creation: 16 March 2011, Schenectady, New York

2

slit/list (2008). NFS. Description: Four pieces of slate approximately 1" X 3" X 1/8", three of which have a single word painted in white, yellow, and yellow ochre acrylic paint on both sides of each, and one piece of which is contains the colophon, written in silver and gold ink on both sides; the pieces of slate are wrapped in a piece of silk necktie, which is then wrapped in a piece of black leather, which is tied shut with a piece of cloth tape. This poem is number 8 of an edition of eight, which was published on 21 January 2008 by my micropress pdqb. I explain and display the poem in a performance in a short YouTube video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pwOsmVNKoM). Roughly five inches by twelve inches when the pieces are arranged with the poem fully open. Packaging: The pieces of the poem are wrapped by the construction of the poem itself, but the poem is also wrapped in wrapping foam for added protection. Fragility: The slate is fairly durable, as are the fabric pieces of the poem, so this should require little care, except to avoid rubbing the pieces of slate together and thus rubbing away the handwritten text of the poem. Creation: 21 January 2008, Schenectady, New York

3

the woords (1987). NFS. (Part 1 of the scentnses) Description: Twenty pieces, two of them the lid and base of the petri dish. Seven pwoermds (one-word poems) handwritten on different kinds of bark (dogwood, cherryish-red yellow birch, paperbirch, beech, pine, hemlock, and oak), together with three hemlock cones, thirteen pine needles (six pairs, one single), and one connected pair of maple keys in a plastic petri dish. On the bottom of the dish there is a dot-matrix printed label with colophon and a round reinforcement tab for ring binder paper with the copyright notice. Released as its second publication by my micropress dbqp in 1987 in a numbered edition of 35, fifteen petri dishes 150mm in diameter, twenty 100mm in diameter. The copy provided is number 1 of an edition of 35, and one of those 150mm in diameter. Roughly ten inches in diameter when pieces are removed and arranged for reading. There is no set arrangement for these pieces. Copy illustrated is a 100mm copy. Packaging: Tissue paper is interleaved between the lid and base of the petri dish and then wrapped around the rest of the poem. Then the entirety is wrapped in bubble wrap and stored in a box with other object poems. Fragility: The pieces of the petri dish are thin plastic and prone to breaking if mishandled. The individual pieces of the poem are generally sturdy for the pieces of bark and generally fragile for everything else, particularly the pine needles. Creation: 12 September 1987, Caroga Lake, New York

4

th stanes (1987). NFS. (Part 2 of the scentnses) Description: Six pieces: Three stones with pwoermds written on them in different inks (two black, one green, held together in a pouch made of used sued tied closed with a tie of the same suede, both machine-suede, pouch about three by five inches in size; colophon rubberstamped and handwritten with fountain pen on a suede sheet within the pouch. Part of a numbered edition of 35, the copy provided is number 23. Roughly six by four inches when pieces are removed and arranged for reading. There is no set arrangement for these pieces. Packaging: The pieces are wrapped together in layers of suede in the poem itself, so this piece is not additionally wrapped, but it is stored with other pieces in a box marked with its name. Fragility: These pieces are not fragile, but rough handling can cause the ink to rub off. Creation: 13 November 1987, Horseheads, New York

5

th shlls (1991). $6.50 (Part 4 of the scentnses) Description: Eleven pieces: Three large shells with pwoermds written on them in silver ink, and five small shells with each of the vowels in the English language written on them in copper ink, one sheet with the colophon typed on it in black and red, and two pieces of a black plastic container that holds these contents. Released by my micropress dbqp in 1991 in a numbered edition of 35, 13 in black containers and 12 in white containers. The copy provided is number 13 of an edition of 35, and one of those in a black container. Roughly ten by nine inches when pieces are removed and arranged for reading. There is no set arrangement for these pieces. Packaging: The small shells are wrapped in tissue paper together, the oyster shell and clam shell are wrapped in tissue paper together as well, and the mussel shell is wrapped separately in tissue paper. Fragility: All of the shells can break, especially the small ones, but none of these is particularly fragile. Creation: 26 July 1991, Caroga Lake, New York

6

The Subtle Journal of Raw Coinage # 49: Eternaphemera (1991). $2.50 Description: An issue of The Subtle Journal of Raw Coinage, conceived by me, and all the pieces within it were conceived by me, except for chromanticism by Jake Berry, existenaut by D. Watt, glim/mer(e) by Ezra Mark, and volibility by Lisa Bloom, the last of whom is also the only person to have created her own piece for this issue of SJRC. Eleven pieces, a number of them with separate parts: A small self-locking plastic bag includes a sheet with the colophon along with nine pwoermds somehow given self-defining physical form. These pieces are a sheet of paper with multi-colored text, a bit of hyper-decorated ribbon, a paper tag with a string that attaches to nothing else, a fake and miniature US $100 with rubberstamp printing, a flattened Mbius strip with a word rubberstamped upon it, a tag attached to a US penny through a hole drilled into the coin, a sheet of paper slipped into a sealed glassine envelope along with bits of glittery confetti, a square of aluminum file with a word written on it in gold, and a single wooden match with a word written on a small piece of paper then wrapped around the matchstick and held in place with a thin wire wrapped around both. Roughly eight by eight inches when pieces are removed and arranged for reading. There is no set arrangement for these pieces. One of an unnumbered edition of 100. Packaging: This piece is given no additional wrapping and is at the bottom of a box that includes other object poems. Fragility: None of these pieces is particularly fragile, but the paper and the sheet of aluminum foil can be torn if handled roughly. Creation: 30 September 1991, Rotterdam, New York

7

The Elvis of Veils (1989). $1.75 Description: A small glass vial with pasta letters (E, L, V, I, and S) and three flaxseeds inside, and the colophon printed by pink rubberstamp on twice-folded sheet of white paper, 1 by 1 inch in dimensions, which is attached to the vial by being held between the vial and its cap. Published by my micropress dbqp in an edition of 36 on 17 August 1989, one copy of this poem was left at Graceland Mansion during a visit. Roughly 2 by 1 inches in size. Packaging: This piece is wrapped in foam plastic wrap and stored in a box that includes other object poems. Fragility: The colophon can be damaged in handling as can the pasta letters. My recommendation is that the piece be left closed. Creation: 17 August 1989, Schenectady, New York

8

The Four Pillars of Knowledge (2009). NFS. Description: An asemic poem written on a small piece of bluestone (a type of sandstone) in four colors of fingernail polish. Roughly nine by eight inches in size. Unique. Packaging: This poem is inserted into foam plastic envelope itself inserted into a bubble wrap envelope, and then the entirety is wrapped with a sheet of bubble wrap and placed in a box with tissue paper filling in the spaces. Its name is on the box. Fragility: This poem is made of a small piece of bluestone that had separated from a larger stone. Given its material, it is quite fragile and needs to be handled with the utmost care. Creation: 30 August 2009, Schenectady, New York

9

birchth (2011). $5.00 Description: A pwoermd written on a piece of birch bark in silver pencil. This is an old poem of mine, but this copy I made on 10 October 2011. Unique. Packaging: This poem is not protected in any additional way. Instead, it is secured at the bottom of the box with most of the other object poems Fragility: This poem is made of a piece of birch bark that already has a tear in it, so it is a bit delicate, but not too much so. Creation: 10 October 2011, Schenectady, New York

10