EUNOIA
‘Eunoia takes the lipogram and renders it obsolete.’
— Kenneth Goldsmith
‘Eunoia,’ which means ‘beautiful thinking,’ is the shortest word in English to contain all five vowels. This book also contains them all, except that each one appears by itself in its own chapter: A is courtly; E is elegiac; I is lyrical; O is jocular; U is obscene. This uncanny triumph of avant-garde literature has gone to become a bestseller of global renown, winning the Griffin Poetry Prize. The Literary Review of Canada has ranked Eunoia among the five most influential books of Canadian poetry, and the work has inspired a multitude of musicians around the world.
EUNOIA (20TH ANNIVERSARY)
Christian Bök has generated a series of 70 placards, for sale as NFTs, in order to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of Eunoia — his masterwork that has become a bestseller of global renown, resulting in the author winning the Griffin Poetry Prize. Christian Bök has produced a limited edition of collectible broadsheets, each featuring a paragraph, coded to the colour of its given vowel (as defined by the poet Arthur Rimbaud, whose sonnet ‘Voyelles’ assigns a colours to each letter: A noir, E blanc, I rouge, U vert, O bleu). Each page testifies to the onerousness of the poetic labour required to create it.
PURCHASE THE NFTS OF ‘EUNOIA’ ON THE ETHEREUM BLOCKCHAIN
EUNOIA — EPHEMERA
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CHAPTER I
‘Chapter I’ constitutes a sample of poetry from Eunoia (highlighting the personality of the vowel I).
Coach House Books
Edition: ∞
2009 -
AND SOMETIMES
Umlaut Machine #1
‘And Sometimes’ (from Eunoia) is a lautgedichte that lists all English words devoid of any vowels.
Chromium Dioxide Press
Edition: 27
1996 -
VOILE
Umlaut Machine #2
‘Voile’ (from Eunoia) is a homophonic translation of the sonnet ‘Voyelles’ by the poet Arthur Rimbaud.
Chromium Dioxide Press
Edition: 27
1996 -
VOWELS
Umlaut Machine #3
‘Vowels’ (from Eunoia) is a beau présent — a lipogram using only letters found in the title of the poem.
Chromium Dioxide Press
Edition: 54
1996 -
A SET LIST OF GRUB
‘A Set List of Grub’ is a menu for a meal, hosted at Bar Italia in Toronto for the ‘Scream in High Park.’
Chromium Dioxide Press
Edition: 31
2003 -
OF YELLOW
‘Of Yellow’ constitutes a tiny, card token, cut out from the cover of the premier edition of Eunoia.
Coach House Books
Edition: 27
2001 -
VWLS
‘VWLS’ is a lipogram, whose progressive elimination of the vowels pays homage to ‘First They Came’ by Martin Niemöller.
The Blasted Tree
Edition: 60
2017