Asemic Front 2 Gallery: Analog Collage (Cut-Up Asemic Vispo) by Anki Van Dijk (Netherlands)

 

"Analog Collage 3" (cut-up asemic vispo) by Anki Van Dijk 

(Barrle-Nassau, Netherlands) (January 2026) (16 x 12 cm)

(Image courtesy of the artist)

"Analog Collage 1" (cut-up asemic vispo) by Anki Van Dijk

(Barrle-Nassau, Netherlands) (January 2026) (23 x 16 cm)

(Image courtesy of the artist)

"Analog Collage 2" (cut-up asemic vispo) by Anki Van Dijk

(Barrle-Nassau, Netherlands) (January 2026) (13 x 13 cm)

(Image courtesy of the artist)

"Analog Collage 4" (cut-up asemic vispo) by Anki Van Dijk

(Barrle-Nassau, Netherlands) (January 2026) (13 x 13 cm)

(Image courtesy of the artist)

"Analog Collage 5" (cut-up asemic vispo) by Anki Van Dijk

(Barrle-Nassau, Netherlands) (January 2026) (12 x 20 cm)

(Image courtesy of the artist)

Analog Collage 6" (cut-up asemic vispo) by Anki Van Dijk

(Barrle-Nassau, Netherlands) (2014) (13 x 13) 

(Image courtesy of Anna Klos)

Two Homages: For Mary Ellen Solt by Joel Lipman (Ohio, USA) & for Paul Celan by Cheryl Penn (South Africa)

"Homage for Mary Ellen Solt" by Joel Lipman (Ohio, USA) 

(December 2025) (Image courtesy of the artist)

Earlier this week I was excited to see visual poets Joel Lipman and Cheryl Penn had both digitally published impressive homages to two important figures in poetry, experimental literature, and visual poetry: Joel created a piece for Mary Ellen Solt and Cheryl – always a fan of great European poetry – produced an impressive work honoring Paul Celan.

Mary Ellen Solt (1920-2007) earned a master’s degree in literature from the University of Iowa. She became one of the most important leaders of the global concrete poetry movement of the 1960s, co-editing the influential and classic anthology Concrete Poetry: A Worldview (Indiana University Press 1968).

Learn more about Mary Ellen Solt, including Concrete Poetry: A Worldview at Ubu:

https://www.ubu.com/papers/solt/index.html

Solt’s concrete poetry collections, Flowers in Concrete and Marriage: A Code Poem, are contemporary classics. Among many other honors, she received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities to research William Carlos Williams.

"Amsel: for Celan" by Cheryl Penn (South Africa) 

(December 2025) (Image courtesy of the artist)

Paul Celan (1920-1970) was a German-speaking Romanian who became a French citizen in 1955. He survived a forced labor camp where he was sent by the Nazis. In the ruins of Post-World War II Europe, Celan became globally recognized for his literary and cultural innovations. Today, he is enjoying revived interest among visual poets.

I am not at all surprised that Cheryl Penn chose Celan for the powerful visual poem in this post. Cheryl’s work has always included text and cryptic experiments with language and the borderland between word and image.

The invocation of Solt and Celan by Lipman and Penn allude to a powerful and rich history in visual poetry and experimental writing that is in need of further exploration. 

- De Villo Sloan

December 18, 2025

Elbridge, New York, USA

Toward A Spoken Word Asemics: "unonu klat" by Alan Sondheim (Rhode Island, USA)

"Outtake from 'Liquid Pleistocene'" by De Villo Sloan (October 2025)

      

unonu klat

                                              

                                                     by Alan Sondheim

 

    

ytfin swe[a-z] gnitset ole elgan nocnu stxet seton lp3la bup krowten

psil tsila gnitsil tse lp3la bup u:tnerru[a-z] 53zz krowten lp5la

oib ztivroh lia[a-z] lp5la 53zz d a sklat liam klatole liaM seton

ecapsemag codtensn d nacal lpgnolla liam lpla oibtstrohs

lpgnolla nacal d psil ecapsemag klatole liam sklat a d codtensn

ecapsemag lpla lia[a-z] ztivroh oib sklat gnitset a nocnu stxet

gnitsil ztivroh oib gnitset gnitsil tse seton tse ole gnitset

oib ytfin bup lp3la tse gnitset ole elgan swe[a-z] ytfin stxet nocnu

psil tsila ole elgan oibtstrohs lpla ytfin swe[a-z] krowten lp5la

psil tsila lpgnolla nacal lp3la bup krowten :tnerru[a-z] a lp5la

klatole liam lia[a-z] seton :tnerruC 53zz seton lpgnolla liam

klatole lp5la 53zz :tnerru[a-z] lpgnolla tsila psil lp5la krowten

codtensn d d codtensn ecapsemag lpla oibtstrohs nacal a nocnu

txet lpla oibtstrohs elgan ole gnitsil tse nocnu stxet ytfin

swe[a-z] sklat gnitset bup lp3la lp3la bup ztivroh oib gnitset stxet

nocnu tse gnitsil gnitset oib ztivroh lpla stxet nocnu a gnitset

sklat swe[a-z] ytfin codtensn d ole elgan oibtstrohs tsila lpgnolla

nacal oibtstrohs lpla ecapsemag liam lpgnolla seton d codtensn

krowten lp5la psil lp5la a :tnerru[a-z] :tnerruC 53zz lp5la klatole

lp5la krowten 53zz :tnerru[a-z] seton liaM liam klatole tsila psil

krowten bup lp3la nacal lpgnolla tsila psil elgan ole

 

network pub al3pl notes texts uncon nagle elo testing [a-z]ews nifty

al5pl network zz35 [a-z]urrent:u pub al3pl est listing alist lisp

notes [a-z]ail elotalk mail talks a d zz35 al5pl Mail horvitz bio

shortstbio alpl mail allongpl lacan d nsnetdoc gamespace

nsnetdoc d a talks mail elotalk gamespace lisp d lacan allongpl

texts uncon a testing talks bio horvitz [a-z]ail alpl gamespace

testing elo est notes est listing testing bio horvitz listing

uncon texts nifty [a-z]ews nagle elo testing est al3pl pub nifty bio

al5pl network [a-z]ews nifty alpl shortstbio nagle elo alist lisp

al5pl a [a-z]urrent: network pub al3pl lacan allongpl alist lisp

mail allongpl notes zz35 [a-z]urrent: notes mail mail elotalk

network al5pl lisp alist allongpl [a-z]urrent: zz35 al5pl elotalk

uncon a lacan shortstbio alpl gamespace nsnetdoc d d nsnetdoc

nifty texts uncon est listing elo nagle shortstbio alpl texts

texts testing bio horvitz pub al3pl al3pl pub testing talks [a-z]ews

testing a uncon texts alpl horvitz bio testing listing est uncon

allongpl alist shortstbio nagle elo d nsnetdoc nifty [a-z]ews talks

nsnetdoc d notes allongpl mail gamespace alpl shortstbio lacan

elotalk al5pl zz35 [a-z]urrent: Current: a al5pl lisp al5pl network

lisp alist elotalk mail [a-z]ail notes Current: zz35 network al5pl

elo nagle lisp alist allongpl lacan al3pl pub network

 

                                                                                     October 2025

"Outtake from 'Liquid Pleistocene'" by De Villo Sloan 

(October 2025)

Allan Bealy Typed-Over: Asemic Concrete Vispo Collab by Allan Bealy & De Villo Sloan (2017-2025)

 

"The Pork Roll Sub-Index" by Allan Bealy & De Villo Sloan (New York, USA) 

(Collab foundation made June 2017; completed August 27, 2025) 

(Image by De Villo Sloan)

AF2 Gallery: "The Seagull's Alphabet" & Other Recent Eco-Asemics & Object Poems by Geof Huth (New York City)

 

"The Seagull's Alphabet" by Geof Huth (New York City) (August 2025)

 (Image courtesy of the poet)

"The Seagull's Alphabet" & Other Recent Eco-Asemics 

& Object Poems by Geof Huth

by De Villo Sloan

These days writing about esoteric abstractions such as metasmics and patasemics makes it easy for me to forget my first serious asemic theory to receive attention in our broader community was my writing about eco-asemics:

https://asemicfront2.blogspot.com/2024/08/af2-commentary-eco-asemics-revised-by.html

When Peter Schwenger was doing the research for his book Asemic: The Art of Writing (2019), he contacted me about some of my blog posts where Nancy Bell Scott (Maine, USA) and I had traded tree bark as mail art and called it asemic. Both she and I had been involved in some extensive online discussions about identifying asemic symbols in nature as well as in found material generated by humans. 

https://www.amazon.com/Asemic-Art-Writing-Peter-Schwenger/dp/1517906970?&tag=us2025tag13-20

I deeply appreciate that Peter Schwenger found Nancy and I interesting and - in turn - that we could help him frame his thinking for what has become a classic book. When Nancy and I were trading Birch bark, I know we weren't thinking too seriously about conceptual art or the roots of language: (But the asemic seed was planted.) We were, honestly, having some fun and enjoying the creative freedom mail art allows. Nancy Bell Scott is a singular talent who significantly contributed to the growth of the asemic movement. 

Thus, I always try to represent eco-asemic visual poets on the blog. I have tremendous admiration for the poets who find their true visions in nature. Veteran visual poet Geof Huth is - as far as I'm concerned along with many other AF2 readers - doing spectacular work with eco-asemics, object poetry and the exciting synthesis taking place between the two.

- De Villo Sloan

Elbridge, New York, USA

August 8, 2025

"Shull 451: and may change and alter the same" by Geof Huth 

(July 2025) (Image courtesy of the poet)

"The See-E" by Geof Huth (July 2025) 

(Image courtesy of the poet)

"Woud 49: AT a/ti" by Geof Huth (July 2025) 

(Image courtesy of the poet)

"Untitled" by Geof Huth (July 2025) 

(Image courtesy of the poet)

"Shull 456: fhall be velted in" by Geof Huth (August 2025)  

(Image courtesy of the poet)

"perfon, who fhall throw any carcafe" by Geof Huth  

(July 2025) (Image courtesy of the poet)

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.

Machine L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E: Danny Snelson "Reconstitutes" Charles Bernstein's Classic Avant Texts

 

Cover of Danny Snelson's project to "reconstitute" Charles Bernstein's 

L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E (May 2023/25)

Danny Snelson is involved in a project, L≠A≠N≠G≠U≠A≠G≠E, using artificial intelligence to "reconstitute" the original magazine published by the Language poets (1978-82) "so that machines might appreciate this 'poetics'". Visit the project here:

https://manifold.umn.edu/projects/the-little-database/resource/snelson-9781452973456-r006

Deepest thanks to Christian Bok who originally shared this information at X.

Vispo by Thomas Cassidy Including Collabs with Sheila E. Murphy & John M. Bennett (USA)

Vispo collab by Thomas Cassidy (Minnesota, USA) 

& Sheila E. Murphy (Arizona, USA) (2013)

(Image courtesy of Thomas Cassidy)

"Practice" by Thomas Cassidy (July 2025)

(Image courtesy of the artist)

Vispo collab foundation by Sheila E. Murphy (circa 2010)

(Image courtesy of Thomas Cassidy)

"Bunda" by Thomas Cassidy & John M. Bennett (July 2025)

(Image courtesy of Thomas Cassidy)

Vispo collab foundation by Sheila E. Murphy (circa 2010)

(Image courtesy of Thomas Cassidy)

"heat mirage" by Thomas Cassidy & John M. Bennett (June 2025)

(Image courtesy of Thomas Cassidy)

Vispo collab foundation by Sheila E. Murphy (circa 2010)

(Image courtesy of Thomas Cassidy)