First performed by a Regina dance company in 2002 and published as a
book in 2003, the text draws on “several musical devices and
techniques,” writes the author in his preface to this reprint. These
include “retrograde motion” (lines spoken front to back, back to front)
and “polyphonic speech” (usually “sustained” polyphony, meaning several
voices speak their parts all at once). The challenge to arrange all
these voices and motions into a cohesive story and experience is worth
taking. The piece tells of the origin of the great bear constellation,
but also shows how various cultures tell this same story. Bringhurst
writes in Cree, Greek, Latin and English. Focus on the English text
alone and you’re rewarded with writing that alternates between playful
and considered, colloquial and poetic. And, if you understand only the
Anglophone speech, the other linguistic lines become beautiful visual
elements. (With the outer-jacket image of the ursine head, a detail
from a wood engraving by Wesley Bates, which wraps around star-strewn
cover, this is an artist book.) Lines are printed in their own type and
in different colour, depending on their function in a scene. The author
calls this a “voice map.” Even with this guide, it’s good to get lost
and then to find your way.
This article appears in Apr 30 – May 6, 2009.
