A poet takes another's text, excises this, prints over that, cancels, erases, rearranges, defaces-and generally renders the original unreadable, at least in its original terms. What twentieth-century writers and artists have meant by such appropriations and violations, and how the "illegible" results are to be read, is the subject Craig Dworkin takes up in this ambitious work. Reading the Illegible explores such formal and structural manipulations in a wide range of exemplary cases: John Cage's and Jackson MacLow's practices of "writing-through" other texts; the intentional "cancellations" of text by book artist Ken Campbell and conceptual artist Marcel Broodthaers; Susan Howe's experiments in typography and cultural transmission; visual complexity in Charles Bernstein, Stan Brakhage, and Rosemarie Waldrop; the "sedimentary" texts of post-minimalist artist Robert Smithson and poets Steve McCaffery and Christopher Dewdney ; the tactics of erasure employed by the poet Ronald Johnson and book artist Tom Phillips. In his scrutiny of these works, and with reference to a rich variety of contextual materials--from popular and scientific texts to visual artworks, political and cultural theories, and experimental films-Dworkin proposes a new way of apprehending the radical formalism of such unreadable texts. His method seeks to unveil what Dworkin describes as "the politics of the poem"-what is signified by its form, enacted by its structures, implicit in the philosophy of language, how it positions its reader, and other questions relating to the poem as material object. In doing so, he exposes the mechanics and function of truly radical formalism as a practice that moves beyond aesthetic considerations into the realm of politics and ideology. Thus this book asks us to reconsider poetry as a physical act, and helps us to see how the range of a text's linguistic and political maneuvers depends to a great extent on the material conditions of reading and writing as well as on the mechanics of reproduction.

Discusses media portrayals of black men who are outside the expected roles of stock characters and are thus, "illegible" to spectators.

Received document entitled: EXHIBIT N TO PETITION FOR WRIT

Arjun, a talented programmer struggling to get a job because of his poor academics, finds that his father is deeply in debt for a long time. With hope – his love, Shreya, and support – his friend, Raj, he gets roped into underpaying, downright, unfair programming jobs, yet out of necessity, and soon incurs debts of his own. He wonders if he has a destiny? Often lonely and cheated, Arjun swallows a bitter pill and leaves his parents alone to make more money with a promise to return. A 10-year-long journey of a man with his dreams who slowly discovers something else he is destined for after a near-death experience. Praise for the book: “Learning about a boy who was so under-confident, who didn’t know how to speak English properly but honed his skills and became a millionaire is surely an inspirational read. I think a large part of the audience will be able to relate to it, be it students, young professionals or mid-senior level professionals. There is a bit for everyone. And, what I really loved about this book is it doesn’t preach you anything as such in the direct narrative instead there are so many underlying messages which are enough to motivate you.” – BooksAmaze “Arjun’s character is somebody that you grow fond of as a reader because Arjun is literally the humblest guy in the world, somebody who works really hard, somebody who is trying his best to deal with all the distress in his life. Still, life keeps throwing curve balls at him while he tries to dodge them. He keeps getting hit by them, but he doesn’t stop, and that makes his character extremely inspiring. This is the kind of book that gives out the message that good things are just around the corner and you just have to keep going.” – Saumya’s Bookstation

A comprehensive examination of welfare state surveillance and regulation of single mothers in Ontario.