To the uninitiated, it’s easy to categorize asemic writing as generic markings, scratches and blots that carry aesthetic weight without much meaning and intent. But asemic writing is more than just aesthetics, it’s a graphic form of communication, mimicking language as we know and understand it, using marks to convey ideas and motifs. Illegible these forms may be, their construction opens up a space for the readers to view and interpret possibilities within given forms.
For Dermisache, it’s about movement. “Graphically speaking, every time I start writing I develop a formal idea that can be transformed into the idea of time.” Adding the framework of literary categories like “books” and “texts” to titles keep the works from falling completely into the art realm, opening themselves up to being collected for publication and distribution rather than formal gallery presentation.
I first came across Dermisache’s work in Primary Information’s Women in Concrete Poetry anthology and wanted to seek out more of her work. While there’s not a lot of supplementary information (it would have been nice), this volume does offer a varied sampling of her work, including a selection of 16 texts and two full book collections. Good for those looking to expand horizons, good for the uninitiated who are curious, and good for those who seek more.
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