Between Page and Screen

by Amaranth Borsuk, Brad Bouse

Between Page and Screen explores the place of books as objects in an era of increasingly screen-based reading. The pages of this artist's book contain no text—only abstract geometric patterns and a web address leading to this site, where the book may be read using any browser and a webcam. The poems that appear, a series of letters written by two lovers struggling to map the boundaries of their relationship, do not exist on either page or screen, but in the augmented space between them opened up by the reader.

Genres: Poetry

50 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[S.W. Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suspect "Page and Screen" are a metaphor for "writer and reader" or "you and me." At first I was annoyed by having to go to a website, activate my camera and figure out exactly how to hold the book in front of the camera and still be able to read the screen, but it's actually pretty user friendly and worth the minor investment. I'm just a Luddite who has grown hateful of the relentless technological intrusions that seems to make everything more difficult and less meaningful. This book is an exception.

[Ky Haslam · Rating 2 out of 5]

"A screen is a shield, but also a veil-it's sheer and can be shorn."

The only reason I gave this book 2 stars is because of the brilliance behind a book with no words and the ability to only read it through a computer Webcam. It's such an original idea and works with no flaws.

However, I did not like the book itself. It could be because I am too small minded, but I just did not understand it. To me, it was just a jumble of nonsensical words. I understand the main concept, but I did not understand the dialogue within it.

[Aileen Tierney]

As others have pointed out, this book (at least the first edition) cannot be read. It relies on Adobe Flash, which has been unsupported since the end of 2020. Definitely interesting to think about formally, esp with experimental work that relies on technology.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept is brilliant, the experience quite maddening as you hold a book up to the webcam in your computer and use adobe flash player, and watch letters leap out of black and white shapes on your computer screen, and
P and S have a conversation. It's the sort of language play I understand, where letters and sounds morph into new letters and sounds -- but a mirror for me to see how the person writing this might be having fun -- but what about the poor reader? If indeed one is looking for meaning, this book will demonstrate that there is none -- as Wittgenstein might say, "This is a very pleasant pineapple" uses recognizable words -- but the meaning will come from the actions a speaker takes, which confirm what understanding this transfers to him.

I will say this about positive benefit: This book makes you want to create your own story between two things! Although page and screen provided a physical challenge of jockeying them into position, (addressing power and control of reader!) it was frustrating to have the words turn into a waterfall of letters and have to start all over. (addressing power and control of reader!) I get the metaphor. That second law of thermodynamics in operation, and another chance to witness being at the limit of chaos.

[Joseph · Rating 3 out of 5]

For www.heysmallpress.org:

Someone once said that since the 1990s, content as a realm of possible experimentation in literature has been exhausted, leaving form the final sandbox for writers to play and build in. If this is the case, Between Page and Screen is a significant movement in this trajectory: a kind of “digital pop-up book,” the book itself contains no text, only a series of black and white rune-like geometric patterns that, when displayed in a computer’s webcam to the online program at www.betweenpageandscreen.com, have poetry extracted from them. You watch yourself holding the book in the flash window on the webpage: the words — sometimes moving, sometimes still; a collection of cryptic love letters, shifting phrases, and combinations of letters rotating and looping back upon themselves — appear to float above each sigil, exploding in a cloud of text with the turn of each page. Borsuk and Bouse have created a wonderful new infrastructure for digital literature which, hopefully, future writers will continue to exploit and further build upon.

[Anastasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars for the quirkiness of this page-screen romance and the novelty of tactile poetry that has also been augmented digitally. Spent an evening learning how to read the thing. Unfortunately, some images were too small, even in full screen mode, to delve into. Would like a printed transcript (I'm sure that would make the page happy).

[Wendy Wakeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book alone isn't enough: you need an internet-connected, camera-equipped computer to get the text. The forced interaction between text, technology, and reader is a little bit of a joyful miracle, though. It's both playful and serious, and I've shared my copy with all kinds of friends: writers and non-writers alike.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Papervision

Between Page and Screen had me at esperanto and augmented me at pagan.

[Mills College Library]

Coll.

[Kali · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book of poems was totally amazing, between page and screen literally and figuratively.

[Gavin · Rating 5 out of 5]

As far as this book/algorithm being a new(ish) form of Concrete poetry, it's gets a solid five+ stars as it's a masterful collab between a writer and a programmer.

[Rebecca Renner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amaranth is a brilliant thinker, artist, poet, and speaker. I am privileged to say I got to meet her when she came to read at my MFA's residency this winter. I highly recommend all of her work.

[Natalia · Rating 5 out of 5]

very creative!