The Analog Counterculture & Low-Tech Publishing Series: Part 1: Creating Visual Poetry & Mail Art
Event Info
Course Code: 24FPM007I
This in-person workshop takes place at CBA on Monday, December 9th, from 6:00PM to 9:00PM ET.
- Monday, December 9th, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Please Note: Registration for this workshop closes on November 25th, at 11:59 pm. This is the first part of a four part series. Register here for part two of this workshop.
About the Workshop:
This in-person workshop is taught by CBA instructor Rich Dana and Leisha Stanek.
Evening One of our Analog Counterculture & Low-Tech Publishing Series will introduce the history of “concrete” and visual poetry, word-play, cut-ups, mail-art, and intermedia. We will jump into creating quick “word sketches” and shaped poems using verbal and visual prompts. Hands-on exercises will encourage participants to explore new techniques and remix visual and written works with an eye toward creating a completed work by the evening’s end.
This series of four in-person evening workshops taught by instructors Rich Dana and Leisha Stanek explores pre-Xerox copier technologies and how contemporary artists and writers can use them to create new works and publish small editions of zines, chapbooks, prints, and flyers.
Before there was social media, even before photo-copied zines, marginalized creators challenged the mainstream by publishing their works using DIY stencil prints (mimeographs) and dye-transfer prints (hectographs). Developed during the industrial revolution for copying documents without the use of a printing press, these quick and cheap techniques have been used by Avant Garde artists and poets, political dissidents and underground publishers since the 1800s.
Required Materials:
- All needed materials will be provided by the instructors. Bring your ideas!
About the Instructors
Rich Dana is a copier artist and founder of Obsolete Press. He is an adjunct instructor at the University of Iowa Center for the Book and project organizer of UI Libraries’ Sackner Archive of Concrete and Visual Poetry. He is the author of Cheap Copies!: The Obsolete Press Guide to DIY Mimeography, Hectography and Spirit Duplication.
Leisha Stanek is a performance poet and publisher. She specializes in zines, chapbooks and DIY printing. She’s currently producing a hand-made limited edition of her first novel, OBJECT, which will be available in early 2025.
All images courtesy of the instructor.
Class size is limited to ensure an optimal participant to instructor ratio. Register now before spots fill up! Registration for this workshop closes on November 25th at 11:59pm. The price of this class is $50. If you cannot comfortably pay tuition but are interested in taking this class, please consider filling out our financial assistance application here. We will notify you if you are selected to receive a scholarship before the start date of the class. To view more information about our current scholarship opportunities, please visit this link.
