Canadian Literature rejoices over The Alphabet Game

Those who have lamented the passing of the previous bpNichol reader, An H in the Heart, rejoice! The Alphabet Game is here to introduce a new generation of readers to the work of one of Canada’s most eclectic and exciting poets. An H in the Heart, Michael Ondaatje and George Bowering’s assemblage (McClelland & Stewart, 1994), was the staple introductory text—but it went out of print. The Alphabet Game, edited by Darren Wershler-Henry and Lori Emerson, steps into the game as an accessible, intelligent, and deeply felt compendium of Nichol’s work, from his ephemera to The Martyrology and more. At three-hundred-plus pages, it is heftier than the earlier reader, and published by Coach House Books, which is a better home for Nichol’s work, since they publish much of his other writing.

There are notable differences. An H in the Heart was edited by two of Nichol’s friends, and their admiration and personal connection is displayed in the way that they produced that work. Darren Wershler-Henry and Lori Emerson, however, are part of a new generation of scholars working on Nichol, and they produce their reader with a mix of academic rigour and care. It demonstrates a respect for Nichol that is both intellectual and emotional. They are not without prior connection to Nichol’s work, either. Wershler-Henry published, in 1997, one of the first books from the revamped Coach House Books (previously Coach House Press). Entitled Nicholodeon, it is a clever book of what he calls 'lowerglyphs,' poems and concrete pieces that pay homage to Nichol and others. Emerson, currently a post-doctoral fellow in Georgia, has published on poetics and media and technology, and has worked on Nichol online, archiving his sound poems. Both are well-suited to this publication, as well as to the companion web site that they promise -- bpnichol.ca -- which was not yet online at the time of review.

The Alphabet Game is a well-produced book, and a pleasure to read. It includes bp favourites -- excerpts of Selected Organs and 'Blues,' for example -- alongside well-chosen passages from longer works, and many lesser-known pieces. Notes at the back and footers indicating the source of texts keep readers grounded and aware of what’s at stake in both reading and editing Nichol. I don’t agree with all of the choices -- I would have chosen the part from book two of The Martyrology about the dog Terry, for instance -- but this sampling is both representative and excellent. Poet jwcurry has spent many years assembling what he calls a Beepliographic Cyclopoedia, which covers all of Nichol’s works and works about Nichol. It will clock in at three-thousand-plus pages in eight volumes, and is still in progress. Assembling the absolutely prolific bpNichol into a single package is a gargantuan effort, and Wershler-Henry and Emerson should be applauded for this work. Distilling Nichol is impossible, but The Alphabet Game does just that, and brilliantly.