Type Liberation Project
As technology has changed in the past fifty years, the value of letterpress type has changed as well. There is an abundance of metal type and fewer printers who use it. The result is that , as old letterpress shops close, it is often more valuable to sell the letters as "scrap metal" than it is to find letterpress printers wiling to buy the type. I was interested in finding out about what has been happening with this old scrap metal and researching this online when I discovered that at-home ammunition makers find the foundry type metal ideal for their bullet making. As a writer, I found the idea of taking words and letters and turning them, literally, into bullets barbaric. We should use words and letters and writing to stop physical violence, not become part of it! The Type Liberation Project is a way to resist.
I ordered ten pounds of the assorted foundry type in October 2012. After sorting the type by size and by font (and organizing it alphabetically) I printed the letters onto a 12 x 20 sheet of paper. I My hope is that writers will use these letters to create works more powerful than the bullets would have been.
If you are interested in learning more about the genesis of the project, click here.
On November 15, 2012, at a stop on the Improbable Places Poetry Tour, I handed out many of the broadsides to writers willing to help. In the coming month, their creative work will appear on this page.
I want the writers to have as much license as they need to create the work, so I won't give instructions what to do with the printed version of the letters or the PDF below. Some writers have talked about creating a new line at every break or new font. Others, choosing less constraint, have decided to use any available letter. The level of constraint and restriction is up to each individual. My hope is that some writers will choose to write directly on the broadside. Others will type the final poem and send it in an email. These are all possible. The important thing is doing the work.
In the meantime, if you do have questions, feel free to contact me at hugo.h.pellinen@gmail.com.
The text on the broadside and in the image below gets VERY small. I recommend downloading the PDF. It's a much clearer image and one that allows you to zoom in. If you're interested in the acquiring a printed broadside (either a copy to write on or a more finely printed version that is ideal for framing!), please send an email to me at hugo.h.pellinen@gmail.com.
I ordered ten pounds of the assorted foundry type in October 2012. After sorting the type by size and by font (and organizing it alphabetically) I printed the letters onto a 12 x 20 sheet of paper. I My hope is that writers will use these letters to create works more powerful than the bullets would have been.
If you are interested in learning more about the genesis of the project, click here.
On November 15, 2012, at a stop on the Improbable Places Poetry Tour, I handed out many of the broadsides to writers willing to help. In the coming month, their creative work will appear on this page.
I want the writers to have as much license as they need to create the work, so I won't give instructions what to do with the printed version of the letters or the PDF below. Some writers have talked about creating a new line at every break or new font. Others, choosing less constraint, have decided to use any available letter. The level of constraint and restriction is up to each individual. My hope is that some writers will choose to write directly on the broadside. Others will type the final poem and send it in an email. These are all possible. The important thing is doing the work.
In the meantime, if you do have questions, feel free to contact me at hugo.h.pellinen@gmail.com.
The text on the broadside and in the image below gets VERY small. I recommend downloading the PDF. It's a much clearer image and one that allows you to zoom in. If you're interested in the acquiring a printed broadside (either a copy to write on or a more finely printed version that is ideal for framing!), please send an email to me at hugo.h.pellinen@gmail.com.
| tlppdf.pdf |
