Paper or plastic? Fusepo Trashbook by Rebecca Guyver (Suffolk, UK)

[De Villo Sloan]

Mail-art by IUOMA member Rebecca Guyver (Suffolk, UK)

July 4, 2013 - Rebecca Guyver sent me a most wonderful Trashbook, made all the more extraordinary by a special process of composition she has perfected using melted plastic: "Fusepo." I can testify the results are astounding in terms of texture and colour; the book is haptic as well as visual. Might this also be considered processed Trashpo? Trashpro?

The MinXus lexicon tells us: "MinXus is the opposite of Trashpo." Yet  with the heft of dialectics firmly in her favour, Rebecca does seem to have achieved a MinXus-Trashpo synthesis. In fact, the book achieves synthesis on a number of levels. Here is a scan of the front (right) and back (left) covers:

We also note the Trashquilt concept has been employed here. The stitching is very fine and uniform.

Miss Becca has become a seasoned, knowledgeable and respected Trash poet. Firmly in company with Jim Leftwich (Virginia, USA) and Diane Keys (Illinois, USA), she creates visual poetry from found material that integrates image and text.

As with much Trashpo, the structure and unfolding of this work is primarily organic rather than formalist, referred to as D-Khaos. Sometimes, especially longer, organic pieces can collapse or meander into nothing, a dissipation of energy. Miss Becca has added various systems (formalist) using repetition of colour, shape and image (among other elements) that help sustain the book. A nice balance is achieved, I think.

The pages presented thus far reveal the guiding structural principles. Miss Becca included the following kind note:

Rebecca Guyver asks specifically about asemics and through implication raises the issue of related practices such as visual and concrete poetry. I am pleased to be able to offer a humble opinion in reply: This Trashbook should be considered vispo with its lyrical play of word and image, visual syntax - a fairly traditional form of vispo. The weaving of words and letters as well as the suggestion of language as a material link this work to concrete poetry. On some pages, the work is also fairly minimalist in terms of language.

This is one of our favs in the whole book. A close-in, we hope, reveals the similarity to earlier concrete poetry:

The presence of broken letters, overlaying, shapes that suggest symbols (and are also repeated), and linearity of unreadable text all contribute to the undeniably asemic elements of this book.

At this point in her work, Rebecca has become conversant with types of poetry that have flourished in the Eternal Network: vispo, haptic, asemic and concrete. Here she is able to intermingle them without much self-consciousness: another synthesis.

All the elements mentioned above are, further, integrated neatly into a Trashpo format. Here are the concluding pages:

Many thanks to Miss Becca for sending this fantastic work! I treasure it!

[De Villo Sloan]

That's Amiri Baraka (haven't had to spell that in a while) - "Somebody Blew Up the USA"

[De Villo Sloan]

I'm not really good with those symbols either ;((

I'm a "Beyond the Pale" diehard and it's looked like a 2nd generation NY School Reunion over there for awhile, which is OK with me as I'll take that to the alternative any day. Ted Berrigan, sadly, died on July 4th - I think 1983. Now there is a link to an Amiri Barraka video about the global conspiracy that makes Post-Neo synthetic food theories seem reasonable in comparison. 

You wrote about a warranty for your scanner. All I could think of was whether there are warranties on mail-art, such as the instance of the defective D-Koder rings as, you know, I ate part of D-Koder ring that exploded in my cereal.

"Darkness settles of Nayland Farm" - very pastoral.

[Rebecca Guyver]

DVS, I only saw this now. CROW no logical! I need a lesson in @ and # from my semi-adult children. I don't really get it yet.

Which book?  This book? Is it broken? Don't worry.  It doesn't matter.  It makes me laugh.  

I haven't been to "Beyond the Pale" lately, but I will get out my one Ted Berrigan title to read (late) as the certain slant of light turns the Nayland field dark.

[De Villo Sloan]

Hi Rebecca, this is just, IMHO, a major contribution to Trashpo. I want to TY you again profusely. As to other issues raised:

@ 7.4.2013 - at "Beyond the Pale" someone says it's Ted Berrigan Day. I am "down with that."

@ ranching - in the spirit of MinXus, the Nayland Chicken Ranch would be of great importance. Glad to hear "all nine chicks have made it through the perils of adolescence" (wink, wink). Crow-nological.

@ scanners - at midnight on July 1, SkyNet became self-aware & launched an attack on humanity by linking & seizing control of all scanners across the planet. The war of machines against humans has commenced. Tell your scanner your name is Sarah Connor & wink.

@ warranty? Is there a warranty on this book you sent me?

I am sure you'll get things rolling again. The break might actually be therapeutic for you.

[Rebecca Guyver]

Oh Geez, DVS, such a wonderful write-up and on July the 4th too! Today marks the end of a marathon of days in schools.  My iron has been cold for days, maybe even a week.  All nine chicks have made it through the perils of adolescence and we wait to hear how many crow. And my scanner isn't winking and makes a whining noise, so I have wasted even more time at war with my printer company, or was until I found the receipt, that means it's in warranty. Hah. The postalledger has been silent, but not for long.