Origin of Book Spine Poetry
In the year 1993 artist Nina Katchadourian gave birth to the concept of ‘Book Spine Poetry’ that coupled the art of photography with poetry and was displayed as a stack of books in a particular sequence in order to create a sentence or story. The ‘Sorted Books’ project spread quickly but continued to dominate photography and creative platforms alone. It wasn’t until a decade later when Tumblr showcased the hashtag #BookSpinePoetry that this art grew in its popularity together with contributions from the Book Riot & the Huffington Post. Now that is what many refer to as Internet Legacy and since I am a 90s kids – being part of this movement thrills me.
Discovery & My First Attempt at Book Spine Poetry
The following is a set of random selections that just caught my attention, when I stood in front of my personal library. I did not have a plot or ploy for a specific book spine poem. But what I loved about the experience was it was innate. Meaning of all the books in my collection these are the ones that caught my eye thus elucidating on my inner most thoughts. I think, I can safely say these help express my feelings at-best.
So here goes nothing…
Evidence of Love
City of Lies
Girl Boss
Working to 9 to 5
It’s Kind of a Funny Story
And this is True
Reckless
Voices of the Heart
The Sun & Her Flowers
Fun & Games
Of Mice & Men
Nothing Lasts Forever.
Wouldn’t you like to tryout this unconventional but incredibly creative medium? I’d love to see your constructions, remember the stack can be read from top to bottom or left to right. The end result can be humorous or dramatic but the overall venture is brilliant and engaging. Why should Tumblr have all the fun? Just tag me on Twitter and/or Instagram and I will see you there.
Good Luck!