The Paradox of Asemic Writing

In my first post on asemic writing, I ended by pointing to the paradoxical nature of this art form: the marks involved are at once meaningless (since they have no semantic meaning) and meaningful (since, as an art form, there can be meaning behind their creation – the intention, emotion, or state of mind expressed…

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Pseudographia: Automatic Asemic Writing

Pseudographia is the term I use to refer to either the practice of automatic asemic writing, that is, wordless, artistic writing created in an unconscious way, or the unconscious drive to engage in such writing. I have recently been revisiting the work of the Belgian poet and artist Henri Michaux, as I feel his asemic…

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Xenoglyphs and Asemic Writing: The Joy of Creating Alien Symbols

For several years, I have found myself drawn to the practice of asemic writing (artistic, meaningless writing, which has the appearance of a genuine language). However, I didn’t know there was a specific term for the practice – or that it belonged to an artistic trend – until quite recently. When drawing, or just mindlessly…

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The Value of Writing Challenges

If you’re a writer, no matter what type, part of the rewarding nature of the craft lies in the potential to improve and take your writing in novel directions. There are always new skills that you can pick up, new ways you can write, and new lessons to learn. By reading the works of other…

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Asemic Writing: The Drive to Create Imaginary Languages and Alien Alphabets

I have long been fascinated by the artistic drive to create imaginary languages. Countless numbers of them exist. And some of them have made their way into public consciousness since they have been integrated into the fictional worlds and universes portrayed in popular books and television shows. These fictional languages include Elvish in the works…

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