Annie Dillard · 1995 · EPUB · Calibre ID 580
Resurfaced in Except in Sequence, Repetition, Omission (2026-10-19).
Role in the triad
Control case: same method (omission, never addition) producing delight instead of indictment.
Why this book
Found poems from old manuals, memoirs and textbooks; the Author’s Note states the vow (‘I never added a word’) and the cost (‘the original authors’ intentions were usually first to go’), the exact opposite of Bäcker’s use.
Quotations
Verified against the book’s own text on the day of the reading.
- “By entering a found text as a poem, the poet doubles its context. The original meaning remains intact, but now it swings between two poles.” (Author’s Note)
- “In the course of composing such found poems, the original authors’ intentions were usually first to go.” (Author’s Note)
- “Sometimes I dropped extra words; I never added a word.” (Author’s Note)
- “This is editing at its extreme: writing without composing.” (Author’s Note)
- “Stop carrying out your intentions.” (Signals at Sea, poem 16)
Themes
delight · Ellsworth Kelly · found poetry · intention · last words · manuals · omission · Picard · signals