Barcode Poetry

Reviews

"Can poetry achieve the escape velocity it needs to outrun the logic of the market? That's open to debate, and Flemmer's barcode poems — plus his attached statement — weigh in with wit, vigour, and originality. If you're looking for a quick read that rewards repeated use, Barcode Poetry will get you there. Proceed to checkout."

— Bryce Warnes, CAROUSEL Magazine

"There is a fascinating tension between the digital chill of the barcode and the manifest humanity of the poems themselves ... The poems are arranged so that they move fluidly between registers, and the result is a book that is as much a pleasure to read as it is to look at and think about."

— Aaron Schneider, The /tƐmz/ Review

Publication History

Barcode Poetry was one of the first two books published by The Blasted Tree and released in 2021, but the project began several years earlier in the fall of 2016. Early versions of these poems were published by NewPoetry, Soliloquies Anthology, Penteract Press, BALDHIP, h&, Bottlecap Press, NōD Magazine, Timglaset Editions, Queen Mob's Teahouse, ToCall Magazine, Renegade, Antilang, Train: a poetry journal, Poet Responses to OO: Typewriter Poems by Dani Spinosa, and in the chapbook Barcode Poems, published in 2021 by psw/Timglaset Editions.

In the summer of 2021, The Blasted Tree undertook a crowdfunding campaign to support the publication of two new books of visual poetry. Through pre-sales and the success of this campaign, The Blasted Tree was able to fully fund the production of both books, including an edition of 200 copies of Barcode Poetry.

Exhibi­tion

Une exposition quelconque

November 2 - 30, 2022
Librairie Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, France

Two poems from Barcode Poetry, “WAKE ME WHEN THE LOOTING STARTS” and “SKILLED LABOUR BUILDS A GUILLOTINE,” appeared in Une exposition quelconque, an exhibition of concrete poetry and visual art published by Une rectangle quelconque magazine. The show was up throughout November 2022 in Librairie Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris.