Ent

angl

ed G

uten

berg

:th

e hou

se w

ith sp

ider

s, in

dar

knes

s, Su

dden

ly, a

lette

r of g

old

ente

rs th

roug

h th

e win

dow.

�us

prin

ting

was b

orn…

Lette

rs,

long

, sev

ere,

verti

cal,

mad

e of p

ure l

ine,

erec

t lik

e a sh

ip’s

mas

t in

the m

iddl

e of t

he p

age’s

sea o

f con

fusio

n an

d tu

rbul

ence

;

algeb

raic

Bodo

ni,

uprig

ht le

tters

, trim

as w

hipp

ets s

ubjec

ted

to th

e whi

te

rect

angl

e of g

eom

etry

;

Elz

eviri

an vo

wels

stam

ped

in th

e min

ute s

teel

of th

e prin

tshop

by

the w

ater

, in

Flan

ders

, in

the c

hann

eled

Nor

th ci

pher

s of t

he an

chor

;

char

acte

rs o

f Ald

us,

�rm

as th

e mar

ine s

tatu

re o

f Ven

ice, i

n wh

ose m

othe

r wat

ers,

like a

lean

ing

sail,

nav

igat

es th

e cur

sive c

urvi

ng t

he al

phab

et:

the a

ir of

the o

cean

ic di

scov

erer

s slan

ted

fore

ver,

the p

ro�l

e of

writ

ing.

From

med

ieva

l han

ds to

your

eye

adva

nced

this

N, t

his d

oubl

e 8 th

is J,

this

r of r

ey an

d ro

cio.

�er

e the

y we

re w

roug

ht, m

uch

as te

eth,

nai

ls, m

etall

ic ha

mm

ers o

f lan

guag

e: th

ey b

eat e

ach

lette

r, er

ecte

d it,

a sm

all

blac

k sta

tue o

n th

e whi

tene

ss, a

pet

al or

a sta

rry

foot

of t

houg

ht

taki

ng th

e for

m o

f a m

ight

y riv

er, �

ndin

g its

way

to th

e sea

of

natio

ns w

ith th

e ent

ire al

phab

et il

lum

inat

ing

the e

stuar

y.

�e p

aper

’s ey

es, e

yes w

hich

look

ed at

men

seek

ing

thei

r gift

s, th

eir h

istor

y, th

eir l

oves

; ext

endi

ng th

e acc

umul

ated

trea

sure

; su

dden

ly sp

read

ing

the s

lown

ess o

f wisd

om o

n th

e tab

le lik

e a

deck

of c

ards

.

All

the s

ecre

t hum

us o

f the

ages

,so

ng, m

emor

y, re

volt,

blin

d pa

rabl

e, su

dden

ly w

ere f

ecun

dity,

gr

anar

y,let

ters

, let

ters

that

trav

eled

and

kind

led, l

ette

rs th

at

saile

d an

d co

nque

red,

lette

rs th

at aw

aken

ed an

d cli

mbe

d, le

tters

do

ve-s

hape

d th

at �

ew, l

ette

rs sc

arlet

on

the s

now,

pun

ctua

tion,

ro

ads,

build

ing

of le

tters

.

Yet,

when

writ

ing

disp

lays i

ts ro

se g

arde

ns an

d th

e let

ter i

ts es

sent

ial c

ultiv

atio

n, w

hen

you

read

the o

ld an

d th

e new

wor

ds,

the t

ruth

s and

the e

xplo

ratio

ns, I

beg

a th

ough

t for

the o

ne w

ho

sets

type

, for

the l

inot

ypist

with

his

lamp

like a

pilo

t ove

r the

wa

ves o

f lan

guag

e ord

erin

g wi

nds a

nd fo

am, s

hado

w an

d sta

rs

in th

e boo

k: m

an an

d ste

el on

ce m

ore u

nite

d ag

ains

t the

no

ctur

nal w

ing

of m

yste

ry, s

ailin

g, re

sear

chin

g, co

mpo

sing.

Typo

grap

hy,

let m

e cele

brat

e you

in th

e pur

ity o

f you

r pur

e pro

�les

, in

the

vess

el of

the l

ette

r O, i

n th

e �es

h �o

wer v

ase o

f the

Y, i

n th

e Q

of Q

ueve

do, (

how

can

my

poet

ry p

ass b

efor

e tha

t let

ter a

nd n

ot

feel

the a

ncie

nt sh

iver

of t

he d

ying

sage

?) in

the l

ily m

ulti

mul

tiplie

d of

the V

of v

ictor

y, in

the E

esca

lated

to cl

imb

to

heav

en, i

n th

e Z w

ith it

s thu

nder

bolt

face

, in

the n

ear-

oran

ge P

.

Love

,I l

ove t

he le

tters

of y

our h

air,

the U

of y

our l

ook,

the S

of y

our �

gure

.

My

love

,yo

ur h

air s

urro

unds

me a

s jun

gle o

r dict

iona

rywi

th it

s pro

fuse

d re

d lan

guag

e.

In e

very

thin

g,in

the w

ake o

f the

wor

m, o

ne re

ads,

in th

e ros

e, on

e rea

ds, t

he

root

s are

�lle

d wi

th le

tters

twist

ed b

y th

e dam

pnes

s of t

he fo

rest

and

in th

e hea

vens

of I

sla N

egra

, in

the n

ight

, I re

ad, r

ead

in th

e co

ast’s

cold

�rm

amen

t, in

tens

e, di

apha

nous

with

bea

uty,

unfu

rled,

with

capi

tal a

nd lo

wer c

ase s

tars

, and

excla

mat

ion

poin

ts of

froz

en d

iam

onds

.

Yet t

he le

tter w

as n

ot b

eaut

y alo

ne,

but l

ife, p

eace

for t

he so

ldie

r; it

went

dow

n to

the s

olitu

des o

f th

e min

e, an

d th

e min

er re

ad th

e har

d an

d cla

ndes

tine �

yer,

hid

it in

the f

olds

of t

he se

cret

hea

rt an

d ab

ove,

on ea

rth h

e bec

ame

anot

her a

nd an

othe

r was

his

word

.

Typo

grap

hy,

I am

onl

y a p

oet a

nd yo

u ar

e the

�ow

ery

play

of r

easo

n, th

e m

ovem

ent o

f the

ches

s bish

ops o

f int

ellig

ence

You

rest

neith

er at

nig

ht n

or in

win

ter,

you

circu

late i

n th

e vei

ns o

f our

anat

omy

and

if yo

u do

slee

p or

�y

away

dur

ing

the n

ight

or s

trike

or f

atig

ue o

r bre

akag

e of

linot

ype,

you

desc

end

anew

to th

e boo

k or

new

spap

er li

ke a

cloud

or b

irds t

o th

eir n

est.

You

retu

rn to

the s

yste

m, t

o th

e in

evita

ble o

rder

of i

ntell

igen

ce.

Lette

rs!

cont

inue

to fa

ll lik

e pre

cise r

ain

along

my

way.

Lette

rs o

f all

that

live

s and

die

s, let

ters

of l

ight

, o�

moo

n,of

silen

ce o

f wat

er, I

lo

ve yo

u, an

d in

you

I gat

her n

ot o

nly

thou

ght a

nd co

mba

t, bu

t yo

ur d

ress

, sen

ses a

nd so

unds

: A o

f glo

rious

aven

a, T

of t

rigo

and

torre

and

M li

ke yo

ur n

ame o

f man

zana

.

Ner

uda

{{ *

Pablo

Pabl

Ner

uda*

Ode to

A Typographic Poem 1964

ntangled Gutenberg: the house with spiders, in darkness,

Suddenly,a letter of gold enters through the window. �us printing was born…

Letters, long, severe, vertical, made of pure line, erect like a ship’s mast in the middle of the page’s sea of confusion and turbulence; algebraic Bodoni, upright letters, trim as whippets subjected to the white rectangle of geometry;

Elzevirian vowels stamped in the minute steel of the printshop by the water, in Flanders, in the channeled North ciphers of the anchor;

Characters of Aldus, �rm as the marine stature of Venice, in whose mother waters, like a leaning sail, navigates the cursive curving the alphabet: the air of the oceanic discoverers slanted forever, the pro�le of writing.

From medieval hands to your eye advanced this N, this double 8 this J, this r of rey and rocio.

�ere they were wrought, much as teeth, nails, metallic hammers of language: they beat each letter, erected it, a small black statue on the whiteness, a petal or a starry foot of thought taking the form of a mighty river, �nding its way to the sea of nations with the entire alphabet illuminating the estuary.

�e paper’s eyes, eyes which looked at men seeking their gifts, their history, their loves; extending the accumulated treasure; suddenly spreading the slowness of wisdom on the table like a deck of cards.

All the secret humus of the ages, song, memory, revolt, blind parable, suddenly were fecundity, granary, letters, letters that traveled and kindled, letters that sailed and conquered, letters that awakened and climbed, letters dove-shaped that �ew, letters scarlet on the snow,

Punctuation, roads, building of letters. Yet,when writing displays its rose gardens and the letter its essential cultivation, when you read the old and the new words, the truths and the explorations, I beg a thought for the one who sets type, for the linotypist with his lamp like a pilot over the waves of language ordering winds and foam, shadow and stars in the book: man and steel once more united against the nocturnal wing of mystery, sailing, researching, composing.

Typography, let me celebrate you in the purity of your pure pro�les, in the vessel of the letter O, in the �esh �ower vase of the Y, in the Q of Quevedo, (how can my poetry pass before that letter and not feel the ancient shiver of the dying sage?) in the lily multi multiplied of the V of victory, in the E escalated to climb to heaven, in the Z with its thunderbolt face, in the near-orange P. Love, I love the letters of your hair, the U of your look, the S of your �gure.

My love, your hair surrounds me as jungle or dictionary with its profused red language.

In everything, in the wake of the worm,one reads, in the rose,one reads, the roots are �lled with letters twisted by the dampness of the forest and in the heavens of Isla Negra, in the night, I read, read in the coast’s cold �rmament, intense, diaphanous with beauty, unfurled, with capital and lower case stars, and exclamation points of frozen diamonds.

Yet the letter was not beauty alone, but life, peace for the soldier; it went down to the solitudes of the mine, and the miner read the hard and clandestine �yer, hid it in the folds of the secret heart and above, on earth he became another and another was his word.

Typography, I am only a poet and you are the �owery play of reason, the movement of the chess bishops of intelligence

You rest neither at night nor in winter, you circulate in the veins of our anatomy and if you do sleep or �y away during the night or strike or fatigue or breakage of linotype, you descend anew to the book or newspaper like a cloud or birds to their nest. You return to the system, to the inevitable order of intelligence.

Letters! continue to fall like precise rain along my way.

Letters of all that lives and dies, letters of light, o� moon,of silence of water, I love you, and in you I gather not only thought and combat, but your dress,senses and sounds: A of glorious avena, T of trigo and torre and M like your name of manzana.

Love

, I l

ove t

he le

tters

of yo

ur h

air,

the U

of yo

ur lo

ok,

the S

of yo

ur fi

gure

.

My l

ove,

your

hai

r sur

roun

ds m

e as

jung

le or

dict

ionar

y w

ith it

s pro

fused

red

lang

uage

.

In ev

eryt

hing

, in

the w

ake o

f the

wor

m, o

ne re

ads,

in th

e ros

e, on

e rea

ds,

the r

oots

are fi

lled

with

lette

rs tw

isted

by th

e dam

pness

of th

e for

est

and

in th

e hea

vens

of Is

la N

egra

, in

the n

ight

, I re

ad,

read

in th

e coa

st’s c

old fi

rmam

ent,

inten

se, d

iaph

anou

s with

beau

ty,u

nfur

led,

with

capi

tal a

nd lo

wer

case

stars,

an

d ex

clam

ation

poin

ts of

froz

en d

iam

onds

.

Yet t

he le

tter w

as n

ot be

auty

alon

e, bu

t life

, pe

ace f

or th

e sold

ier;

it w

ent d

own

to th

e soli

tude

s of t

he m

ine,

and

the m

iner

read

the h

ard

and

cland

estin

e fly

er,

hid

it in

the f

olds o

f the

secre

t hea

rt an

d ab

ove,

on ea

rth h

e beca

me a

noth

er

and

anot

her w

as h

is w

ord.

Typo

grap

hy,

I am

only

a poe

t an

d yo

u ar

e the

flow

ery p

lay o

f rea

son,

th

e mov

emen

t of t

he ch

ess bi

shop

s of i

ntel-

lig

ence

You

rest

neith

er at

nig

ht n

or in

win

ter,

you

circu

late

in th

e vein

s of o

ur an

atom

y an

d if

you

do sl

eep

or fl

y aw

ay d

urin

g the

ni

ght

or st

rike o

r fat

igue

or br

eaka

ge of

lino

type

, yo

u de

scend

anew

to th

e boo

k or n

ewsp

a-

per

like a

clou

d or

bird

s to t

heir

nest.

Yo

u re

turn

to th

e sys

tem,

to th

e ine

vita

ble o

rder

of in

tellig

ence.

Lette

rs!

cont

inue

to fa

ll lik

e pre

cise r

ain

alon

g my w

ay.

Lette

rs of

all t

hat l

ives

and

dies,

let

ters o

f lig

ht,

off m

oon,

of si

lence

of w

ater,

I l

ove y

ou,

and

in yo

u I g

athe

r not

only

thou

ght a

nd co

mba

t, bu

t you

r dre

ss, se

nses

and

soun

ds:

A of

glorio

us a

vena

, T

of tr

igo a

nd to

rre

and

M

like y

our n

ame o

f man

zana

.

Enta

ngled

Gut

enbe

rg:

the h

ouse

with

spid

ers,

in d

arkn

ess,

Sudd

enly,

a let

ter of

gold

enter

s thr

ough

the

win

dow

. Th

us p

rintin

g was

born

…

Lette

rs,

long,

sever

e, ve

rtica

l, m

ade o

f pur

e lin

e, er

ect li

ke a

ship

’s mas

t in

the m

iddl

e of

the p

age’s

sea o

f con

fusio

n an

d tu

rbul

ence;

alge

brai

c Bod

oni,

uprig

ht le

tters,

tr

im as

whi

ppets

su

bject

ed to

the w

hite

recta

ngle

of ge

ometr

y; El

zevi

rian

vow

els

stam

ped

in th

e min

ute s

teel o

f the

prin

tshop

by

the w

ater,

in

Fla

nder

s, in

the c

hann

eled

Nor

th ci

pher

s of

the a

ncho

r;

char

acter

s of A

ldus

, fir

m as

the m

arin

e sta

ture

of V

enice

, in

who

se m

othe

r wat

ers,

like a

lean

ing s

ail,

navi

gates

the c

ursiv

e cur

ving

the a

lpha

bet:

the a

ir of

the o

ceani

c disc

over

ers s

lant

ed fo

reve

r, th

e pro

file o

f writ

ing.

From

med

ieval

han

ds to

your

eye

adva

nced

this

N,

this

doub

le 8

this

J, th

is r o

f rey

and

rocio

.

Ther

e the

y wer

e wro

ught

, m

uch

as te

eth, n

ails,

m

etalli

c ham

mer

s of l

angu

age:

they

beat

each

lette

r, er

ected

it,

a sm

all b

lack

stat

ue on

the w

hiten

ess,

a peta

l or a

star

ry fo

ot of

thou

ght

taki

ng th

e for

m of

a m

ight

y riv

er,

findi

ng it

s way

to th

e sea

of n

ation

s w

ith th

e ent

ire al

phab

et ill

umin

atin

g the

estu

ary.

The p

aper

’s eye

s, ey

es w

hich

look

ed

at m

en se

ekin

g the

ir gi

fts,

their

hist

ory,

their

love

s; ex

tendi

ng th

e accu

mul

ated

trea

sure

; su

dden

ly sp

read

ing t

he sl

owne

ss of

wisd

om

on th

e tab

le lik

e a d

eck of

card

s.

All t

he se

cret h

umus

of th

e age

s, so

ng, m

emor

y, re

volt,

blin

d pa

rabl

e, su

dden

ly w

ere f

ecund

ity, g

rana

ry, l

etter

s, let

ters t

hat t

rave

led an

d ki

ndled

, let

ters t

hat s

ailed

and

conq

uere

d, let

ters t

hat a

wak

ened

and

clim

bed,

letter

s dov

e-sh

aped

that

flew

, let

ters s

carle

t on

the s

now

, pu

nctu

ation

, roa

ds, b

uild

ing o

f lett

ers.

Yet,w

hen

writ

ing d

ispla

ys it

s ros

e gar

dens

an

d th

e lett

er it

s esse

ntia

l cul

tivat

ion,

whe

n yo

u re

ad th

e old

and

the n

ew w

ords

, th

e tru

ths a

nd th

e exp

lorat

ions,

I beg

a th

ough

t for

the o

ne w

ho se

ts ty

pe,

for th

e lin

otyp

ist w

ith h

is la

mp

like a

pilo

t ove

r the

wav

es of

lang

uage

or

derin

g win

ds an

d foa

m,

shad

ow an

d sta

rs in

the b

ook:

man

and

steel

once

mor

e uni

ted

agai

nst t

he n

octur

nal w

ing o

f mys

tery,

saili

ng, r

esear

chin

g, co

mpo

sing.

Typo

grap

hy,

let m

e cele

brat

e you

in

the p

urity

of yo

ur p

ure p

rofil

es,

in th

e vess

el of

the l

etter

O,

in th

e flesh

flow

er v

ase o

f the

Y,

in th

e Q of

Que

vedo

, (h

ow ca

n m

y poe

try

pass

befor

e tha

t lett

er

and

not f

eel

the a

ncien

t shi

ver o

f the

dyi

ng sa

ge?)

in

the l

ily m

ulti

mul

tiplie

d of

the V

of v

ictor

y, in

the E

esc

alat

ed to

clim

b to h

eave

n,

in th

e Z

with

its t

hund

erbo

lt fa

ce,

in th

e nea

r-or

ange

P. e

typograpy ha t y p o g r a p h i c a l p o e m • p a b l o n e r u d a • 1 9 6 4

de

t o

EREC

T LIKE A SHIPS MAST

EREC

T LIKE A SHIPS MAST

EREC

T LIKE A SHIPS MAST

EREC

T LIKE A SHIPS MAST

and thus p

rintin

f was born

and thus p

rintin

was born

LETTERS, LONG, S

EVERE

VERT

ENTANGLED

GUTENBER

THE HOUSE OF

THE H

OUSE OF

the house with

ENTANGLED

SP

IDESENTANGLGUTENBERGGUTENBERG

THE H

OUSE OF

THE H

OUSE OF

THE H

OUSE

a PETAL or a STARRY FOOTTAKING THE FORM OF A MIGHTY RIVER

TAKING THE FORM OF A MIGHTY RIVER

TAKING THE FORM OF A MIGHTY RIVERTAKING THE FORM OF A MIGHTY

ILLUMINATING THE ESTYARY

ILLUMINATING THE ESTYARY. THE PAPERSILLUMINATING THE ESTYARLETTERS THAT TRAVELED AND

the pages sea THE PAGEof

sea of confusion

LETTER, SONG SEVERE VERTI-

made of pure HE PAPER’S

song,memory....,EYES, EYES WHICH

revolt,blindparab a petal or a starry foor of thoughtLOOKED.....NAVIGATES THE CURSIVE CURVING OF THE ALPHABET

a petal or a starry foor of thoughtNAVIGATES THE CURSIVE CURVING OF THE ALPHABETthe roots are f lled w

ith

lettersthe roots are f lled with letter the root

twisted by the dampness of the forest twisted by the damp nes

E FORR=

of th

hid in the folds of the secret heartthe foldmm-

your hair surrounds me like

Moyour hair surrounds me like twiste

d

i am only a poet

like a cloud or birds to

th eir n

est lik e precise rain along the w

orecise..

oeaven

precise rain along the w

i love the lette

rs of your oair. yourhair surrounds me. your hair..

i love the lette

rs of your o oooooyourhair surrounds me. your hair.. ..........upright...

the s of your

hid it in th

e folds of the

secr

et heart the sect

hid it in th

e folds of the

secr

et heart the sect

in the v of victoryLIKE A BIRD OR CLOUDS

their histories

mmo

ooo

hairs

....

made of pure line