Language and materiality

I have always been interested in the materiality of language and the possibility for addressing that in different forms of writing—poetry (the obvious one) but also various kinds of critical and theoretical writing. It consistently surprises me that some who make a living writing care very little for the look and feel and sound of the words they use (not to mention the socio-cultural framework through which they signifiy), as if the words are just an expedient and convenient mode of transport for their ideas to lodge themselves in the minds of readers. While such writers may insist on looking at other things as material constructs—like art, for example—they may have a blind spot when it comes to their own writing.

I haven’t come to any crashing insights regarding this issue but I do enjoy thinking about what new forms of writing a full consideration of its materiality might yield, especially in light of digital media. And I enjoy thinking about the words I’m using to write right now.