Nicholodeon: A Book of Lowerglyphs

Chris Knight is managing editor of the Canadian HR Reporter.

In the afterword to this book, Wershler-Henry asks, “If one had to
write a user’s manual for language, what would one write it in, and
for whom?” The answer is that one would write it in the book he has
just written, for anyone daring and curious enough to try to unravel it.
From the ancient Egyptian cartouche on the otherwise blank front cover
to the squiggly lines growing out of the bar code on the back, this is a
book that plays with readers’ expectations of what poetry, language,
and meaning are all about. Most of the works are not even poetry in the
traditional sense, but all are thought-provoking, fun, and a little
disturbing.

There are homages to and echoes of the work of experimental poet
bpNichol, and extensive use of concrete poetry. An example is the word
“NEON” formed out of multiple repetitions of the word NEON. Or are
they multiple repetitions of the word ENO, spelled backwards? The poem
is called “Poem for Brian Eno.” No other clues are given.

Many of the poems are difficult to describe in ordinary language.
“From ‘Language: A User’s Manual’ ” is a crude drawing of a
monkey operating an unexplained piece of machinery. The drawing is
labeled with such phrases as “interpretive failures” and
“knowledge that the sender should supposedly share with the
addressee.”

Wershler-Henry explains: “The job of these poems is to produce a
vague sense of anxiety in the reader, fueled by the mistaken belief that
they house some kernel of meaning that they desperately wish to
communicate, despite nearly impossible odds.” This should be
encouragement enough for readers to try to pry some sense from these
wonderful pictures, words, and picture/words. Those who don’t mind
never knowing whether their guesses are right or wrong should enjoy the
challenge immensely.