Rick Henry's Sidewalk Portrait is audaciously conceived and meticulously crafted. It's such a winning work of word art in its modernist and pomo impulses that it seems it should have already been with us for decades, like the recently discovered experiment of a lost Oulipo genius. But don't presume Henry is some dour coffeehouse fixture -- this is a fun and vibrant work, full of rewards and child-like enthusiasms. There is really nothing like it.
Ted Pelton, founder, Starcherone Books
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Successful formal experiments, especially those relying on Oulipian restraints and combinatorics, might demand a certain degree of skill and patience, but so what? They remain “beyond aesthetic value,” as Raymond Queneau said – a mere demonstration of intellectual gymnastics. Rick Henry’s Chant , an Oulipian Romance, is completely different in this respect. He demonstrates that such experiments need not be completely sterile, that there can be beauty and even love even in constraint.
Matt Short
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