Glasfryn Project

A loose inner slip is inserted inside the first pages of Allen Fisher’s book loggerheads (Spanner, 2018). It shows a strip of unnamed sheet music headed with the phrase ‘As if drawing from the grey sea’.

The phrase ‘As if drawing from the grey sea’ is a fragment from the Greek lyric poet Alcaeus. This phrase drew my attention to the etymology of the verb ‘draw’. From the Germanic for ‘drag’, it originally meant ‘to pull’ and was only later associated with making marks on paper. To draw is to draw out or draw forth, like drawing water.

To draw water, you use a container such as a bucket in order to contain the water. Drawing on paper can been seen to be a similar process, using the page as a way of containing and framing the patterns of mark-making.

 

To Read: Ripple Architectures

 

Steven Hitchins lives in Pontypridd. Recent books include Ilan (Stranger Press 2018), Brynfab Collider (zimZalla 2018) and The Lager Kilns (Aquifer 2019). Between 2017 and 2018 he organised the Canalchemy series of poetry walks along the route of the Glamorganshire canal. He edits The Literary Pocket Book press, publishing miniature origami-fold books. literarypocketblog.wordpress.com

View all: Issue 13, Junction Box | Posted on 4 Aug 2020 |