Oulipost #11: Univocalism

Oulipost # 11: Univocalism

And Canada walks a sad attack

And Canada lacks a plan

And Canada has a small, hard match

And Canada has art and a bag

And Canada was a scandal

And Canada was all scars

SOURCES

Press, Jordan, Spears, Tom and Maher, Stephen. “Brazeau arrested again, pleads not guilty.” The Ottawa Citizen. 11 April 2014. A1

Kennedy, Mark, Hurley, Meghan, and Mcgregor, Glen. “An Irish lion is gone.” Ibid. A1.

PROMPT: UNIVOCALISM

A univocalist text is one written with a single vowel. It is consequently a lipogram in all the other vowels. If he had been univocally minded, Hamlet might have exclaimed, “Be? Never be? Perplexed quest: seek the secret!” All words must be sourced from your newspaper.

ELABORATION

I’m making this on the train, using a laptop I’ve never used before. The things I’ll do for poetry. That’s all the elaboration you’re getting today. I need a coffee.

FUN ACTIVITY

What fascinates me about univocalism are the univocal translations, such as those published in the Oulipo Compendium. A poet named Tom King translates William Carlos Williams’ “This Is Just To Say” as follows:

This is Jist Ti Siy

I hivi iitin

thi plims

thit wiri in

thi icibix

ind which

yii wiri pribibli

siving

fir briikfist

Firgivi mi

thiy wiri dliliciis

si swiit

in si cild

& then does it again with the letter o.

Of course Canada has our own univocalist: Christian Bök whose “Eunoia” (Coach House Books, 2004) is a univocalic masterpiece where every chapter has only one vowel.