Campbell, Allison: Encyclopédie of the Common & Encompassing

Encyclopédie of the Common & Encompassing by Allison Campbell (Kore Press, paperback)

Publication Date: April 1, 2016

Publisher Marketing: Poetry. Visual Poetry. Hybrid Genre. Illustrations by Alf Dahlman. ENCYCLOPÉDIE OF THE COMMON AND ENCOMPASSING is an illustrated collection of encyclopedic prose poems with a structure that is, from the Greek roots of encyclopedia, enkyklios, or circular. The collection operates as a hypertext in which poems and images are cross-referenced to create an interactive text rather than a front-to-back book. The structure is intended to dynamize the reading experience and contest closed readings of poetry.

"Campbell fiercely points out the paradoxes of the Self with wry subtle humor and deadly serious wisdom. This voice is stitched together with the gorgeous artwork of Alf Dahlman, whose tumbling bodies and rubbed out faces chip away at the reader, perfectly."—Biance Stone

"Just when we thought it was all wall-to-wall Wikipedia, a new and ingenious, intrepid, inventive romp through knowledge appears—an encyclopédie that acknowledges Diderot and d'Alembert's groundbreaking work—and then goes off entirely on its own. The genius begins in the carefully curated selection of entries and continues in an oddball bouncy prose full of unexpected specifics. Brilliant through and through."—Cole Swenson

"Allison Campbell and her illustrator, Alf Dahlman, prepare and unprepare us for nothing and everything with these articulate and beautiful confusions. Like their estimable forbears, they let us stand at knowledge's intricately wrought gates, where at any moment, the chains will fall, the iron wings open to admit us."—Angela Ball