8.2 /10 1 Votes
Subject Univocalic poetry Media type Hardback ISBN 1-55245-092-9 Country Canada Publisher Coach House Books | 4.1/5 Goodreads Publication date 2001 Pages 112 Originally published 2001 Original language English Page count 112 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Similar Christian Bök books, American poetry books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eunoia is an anthology of univocalics by Canadian poet Christian Bök. Each chapter is written using words limited to a single vowel, producing sentences like: "Hassan can, at a handclap, call a vassal at hand and ask that all staff plan a bacchanal". The author believes "his book proves that each vowel has its own personality, and demonstrates the flexibility of the English language." The work was inspired by the Oulipo group, which seeks to create works using constrained writing techniques.
Contents
The book was published in Canada in 2001 by Coach House Books; sold 20,000 copies; and won the 2002 Canadian Griffin Poetry Prize. Canongate Books published a British edition in 2008. The book sold well in the United Kingdom, making The Times list of the year's top 10 books and becoming the top-selling book of poetry in Britain.
The title eunoia, which literally means good thinking, is a medical term which refers to the state of normal mental health, and is also the shortest word in the English which contains all five vowels. The cover features a chromatic representation of Arthur Rimbaud's sonnet "Voyelles" (Vowels) in which each vowel is assigned a particular colour and consonants appear grey.
Eunoia
The main section of the book consists of five chapters: "A", "E", "I", "O" and "U". In each of these chapters, the only vowel used is the same one as the title. For example, in Chapter A, the only vowel used is "A". There are other rules given to each of the chapters.
The chapters are dedicated to Hans Arp, René Crevel, Dick Higgins, Yoko Ono, and Zhu Yu, respectively. The postscript of the book implies that Chapter E is a retelling of the Iliad.
Oiseau
"Oiseau", which means "bird", is the shortest word in the French language to use all five vowels. This section contains the following chapters.