In ordinary reading, the book becomes almost invisible—we read the language inside rather than the book itself. In this course, we will read several literary texts that challenge this way of reading by foregrounding the visual surface of the page and the material object of the book. As we encounter these texts, our primary question will be: how do the visual and material features of this text affect the possible literary meanings? Because these particular texts blur the boundaries between poetry, fiction, autobiography, we’ll also explore some of the ways in which genre expectations inform our reading practices.

We’ll begin with the illuminated books of William Blake and the handwritten, handbound fascicles of Emily Dickinson before moving to more contemporary texts, including Theresa Hak Kyung Cha’s Dictee, Anne Carson’s Nox, and Jonathan Safran Foer’s Tree of Codes. As the quarter progresses we will also draw on the UW Libraries’ considerable collection of twentieth-century artists’ books. We will use an array of secondary sources to place the authorship, production, distribution, and reception of these texts in historical context. Our ultimate goal will be to become informed, careful, engaged readers, and to deepen our understanding of these texts through class discussions and written responses.

This course fulfills the university’s “W” requirement and as such is writing intensive. You will write two 5-page papers with the opportunity to revise the first of these papers; brief writing assignments (graded on completion) will also be used as preparation for in-class discussions. We’ll devote some of our class time to writing instruction, but this course assumes rhetorical awareness and a familiarity with the fundamentals of academic writing taught in “C” courses. It is strongly recommended that you complete the university’s “C” requirement before enrolling in this class.