Asemic Front 2 Review: "Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel" by mIEKAL aND (Wisconsin, USA)

 

Cover of Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(West Lima, Wisconsin, USA) (Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) 

(Image courtesy of the Asemic Front 2 Archive)

Review of Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel 

by mIEKAL aND

La Farge Wisconsin, USA: 

Xerox Sutra Editions 2024

8 X 10 inches; 84 black & white plates

Review by De Villo Sloan 

I have just recently obtained a copy of mIEKAL aND’s Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel published in 2024 by Xerox Sutra Editions in La Farge, Wisconsin, USA. I am enjoying perusing this excellent collection and want to register some observations in the official record of my reviews and commentary before at last saying a fond farewell to 2024.

The creation of AI-assisted digital vispo (for which mIEKAL aND is receiving much praise) is opening new literary genres. We are witnessing the birth of patasemics, metasemics, conceptualism, quantum poetry, and numerous other new poetic forms and concepts.

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(West Lima, Wisconsin, USA) (Xerox Sutra Editions 2024)

(Image courtesy of the Asemic Front 2 Archive)

Canadian conceptualist Christian Bok has created his Xenotext, a truly revolutionary bio-poem of the 21^st century. Experimental poets are creating visionary digital epics as well as graphic novels and asemic comics.

Visual poet Shawn McMurtagh (California, USA) and I collaborated on an asemic, glitchtext graphic novel titled, The Many Masks of 'Doc' Mortag (2021). I know firsthand the structural challenges of sustaining an extended vispo piece

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) (Image courtesy of the 

Asemic Front 2 Archive)

mIEKAL aND’s Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel is a collection of nearly one hundred visual poems by one of our most significant and inventive visual poets. The series ranges from contemplative asemic calligraphy to sci-fi hyperreal landscapes of deconstructing texts.  

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) (Image courtesy of the 

Asemic Front 2 Archive)

Unfortunately, in Interrupted Narrative, I can find no structures or repeating themes that suggest this is meant to be a continuous piece, narrative, or meta-narrative. In that sense, the reader must look elsewhere to find better examples of aND’s ability to create expansive textual structures. The book is extremely ambitious, but its strength is found in the individual works on a single page.

Make no mistake: Interrupted Narrative is a dazzling and diverse showcase of mIEKAL aND’s talents. (I hope the selections from the book shared here in the blog will give you a sense of his talents.) Owning a copy of this book is making an investment in the best visual poetry being made.

 

-       - De Villo Sloan

-        July 21, 2025

-        Elbridge, New York, USA

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) (Image courtesy of the 

Asemic Front 2 Archive)

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) (Image courtesy of the 

Asemic Front 2 Archive)

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) (Image courtesy of the 

Asemic Front 2 Archive)

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) (Image courtesy of the 

Asemic Front 2 Archive)

From Interrupted Narrative: A Hypergraphic Novel by mIEKAL aND

(Xerox Sutra Editions 2024) (Image courtesy of the 

Asemic Front 2 Archive)

De Villo Sloan is a concrete poet living in Upstate, New York. He writes frequently about postavant art & culture. He is director of the Winifred & De Villo Sloan, Jr., Charitable Fund.