This work was begun with
the aim of editing and
grouping new and separate
pieces of writing by extent.
Written contrary to the
progressive order in which
they have been collated,
published and might ordin-
arily be read, the method or
‘argument’ was intended to
specify nothing by way of
subject matter, other than
what might happen within
the period of writing.
Notional Questions
When did you begin the
writing?
Sometime in early February
2000.
And when was the writing
finished?
About five months later,
towards the end of June.
Why does it end where it
does?
I had no idea how long the
final piece would become,
how long I would spend on
it, but I was certain at the
start that there would be a
point where the individual
texts would become too
unwieldy to read, because
of the lack of word spacing.
I was also certain there
would be a point that would
suggest to me I had written
enough, not only because
of an inevitable slowing
down of momentum as the
entries became longer, but
that whatever it consisted of
at that particular time, the
decision would clearly be
that it was complete.
Why are there no word
spaces?
As well as being about
the actual counting of the
content, the characters
rather than the absences,
the smallest entries, those
that are to do with shape
as much as meaning, set a
style for what is to follow,
and although the exercise is
based strictly within the idea
of the written, the whole
thing aspires to its reading;
which despite being likely to
be to oneself and therefore
silent, I would hope to
have a definite reference to
listening, to something very
even and equal, without the
emphasis of an actual voice.
Was the writing made all in
the same place?
Everything was written on
the same computer, in the
same room, and although
I did quite a lot of everyday
walking, I didn’t go further
than perhaps ten or so
miles from home during
this time. So I felt very
openly disposed because
I had no pre-set subject
matter, but at the same
time quite concentrated in
a geographical sense, hoping
that everything would just
come along, and that it
would be a project based
on pursuit, in a particularly
local and unprovoked way.
Nevertheless there are
references not only to
further places but to other
times.
Those parts were either
available here already,
in books and other public-
ations, or they may have
turned-up during the period
by being heard on the radio,
for example, so they were
local in a temporal sense.
I suppose ‘temporal local-
ness’ is also a particularity
of a diary or a journal.
Although the writing
accumulated day-by-day,
as it might in a diary, the
placing of the individual
parts and the various
subjects of the individual
parts occurred haphazardly,
because of the imposition of
measurement. I have hardly
any recollection now of the
actual order of writing other
than that the longer texts
were mostly made later
rather than earlier.
It could be likened perhaps
to a daybook or ledger,
where individual entries are
taken out of their sequence
and put into an order, as
you have, based on extent.
Not exactly, because that
would be retrospective. The
difference is that, as I wrote
and cut and pasted within
the active document file,
every part immediately fil-
led an unpredicted position.
This of course affects not
only the final reading,
from start to finish, but
importantly, it affected
the choices and decisions
in the process of writing
as well. In this respect the
system of the piece differs
fundamentally from the
diaristic, because in a diary
the new is continually
following on, and whereas
a diary can be made with a
pencil and paper, this work
could only practically be
put together using a word
processing programme.
Is it significant that the
piece of work was begun
when it was, around the
beginning of the new
millennium?
A year now after the
beginning of the piece
[February 2001], it feels
that it was a very intensive
and separable period of
time. Again, I had no idea
what sort of duration or
overall extent I was invol-
ved with, and it was only at
the very end, when I had
made the decision that the
piece was finished, that it
lost its open-ended and
improvisatory nature.
I honestly do not know if
there was any conscious
significance that the period
began when it did, although
I suppose if the period
had become five years,
rather than five months,
then beginning at the start
of the year two thousand
might have suggested
that there was some signi-
ficance. I was certainly
not interested in some
sort of definitive personal
document commencing at,
and therefore marking that
particular point in time,
but I was very interested
in it having a definitive
relationship to itself, that is,
the life of the activity and its
duration.
Can you recall or suggest
anything else about it that
might inform the reader in
any way?
Finally nothing other than
what is in it.
a
sa
abr
abbr
model
bobbin
toymilk
atatable
nbbbnbbbn
joindupdwg
abreviation
bobbinbobbin
obbinbobbinbo
joinedupkeybds
fulltimewriting
nglnglshnglsglsh
nglshtypingschool
carriagehandreturn
wordprocessedbyhand
englishtypewrtngschl
orgswksupmsdnmsjnlmdl
englinglishenglisglish
parttimerecordingmanual
tetheredtogethertethered
smallbirdsallflyingupfrom
alphabeticalrurallandscape
abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyza
abalingtwinelineinahedgebank
abalingtwinelineinahedgebanka
lookingupstreamlookingdnstream
eachparticularlineisnonabstract
ihadnoideayouweregoingtoreadthis
inparticulareachlineisnonabstract
ihadanideayouwerentgoingtoreadthis
accelerativemanualorgancompositions
abbrrreeeevvvvviiiiiiaaaaattttiiioon
recordedstuvwxyzabcdefghijklmusicnopq
allproximitiesarebyvirtueofextentalone
unrecordedvwxyzabcdefghijklmusicnopqrst
decelerativepedalandstoporgancomposition
aaaaaabbbbbrrrreeevviaatttiiiiooooonnnnnn
infacinghedgebanksparallelbalingtwinelines
walkingalongreadingthetypeofeverypassingcar
improvisewalkingaboutalkingaboutlookingabout
drivingalongrecitingthenameofeverypassingtree
walkinstrictcounterpointwiththemeanderingriver
thesehavebeenprocessedinordertobenotasifscribed
orgasworksupmanuscriptdownmanuscriptjournalmodel
ultimatelyhebecomesjustanotherreaderofhisownworks
smallallbirdsbirdsallflyingflyingfromupsmallfromup
onetwothreefourfivesixseveneightnineteneleventwelve
hewassodeafyoucouldmakehimoutwhisperinginthedistance
milkwaterymilkmilkywaterwatermilkywaterwaterymilkmilk
countingtwobirdsthreefourfivefourthreebirdstwocounting
ultimatelyhebecomesjustanotherwriterofotherpeoplesworks
twothreefourfivesixseveneightnineteneleventwelvethirteen
thereisaplaceforeverythingunlesstheplaceisalreadyoccupied
whenyouarebeingtoldsomethinginabookyoulisteninonedirection
whenyouarelookingforsomethinginabookyoulookinbothdirections
itisnotwrittenwithblankspaceaheadbutwithunwrittenpartswithin
thereisaninevitableunevennessofqualityaswellasofsubjectmatter
atthebeginningofanimprovisationthereisnosuchthingasafalsestart
extemporaneouswaysidediscussionsixteenthofjulynineteeninetynine
lookingintherearviewmirrorofareversingcarshowstheroadbehindahead
lookingthroughthewindscreenofareversingcarshowstheroadaheadbehind
theshorthoursofwinterthehoursofspringandautumnthelonghoursofsummer
fromtheoverallmotorwaytothedetailofnumberplatestotheoverallmotorway
writewalkwritewalkwritewalkwritewalkwritewalkwritewalkwritewalkwrite
dependingonwhichdirectionyouapproachfromallwordshavetwoinitialletters
detailupondetailupondetailupondetailupondetailupondetailupondetailupon
arpdadacollageaccordingtothelawsofchancepaperoncardboardnineteensixtee
n
fromthedetailofnumberplatestotheoverallmotorwaytothedetailofnumberplat
es
thepartsofrereaderwerearrangedalphabeticallythesepartsarearrangedbyext
ent
lyingbeyondthetableatwhichthewriterononesidesitsiseverywheretemporally
else
theimprovisedwordsdictatedwerereadbackasifwhathadbeenwrittenhadnotbeen
heard
ifnumbermeasureandweighingbetakenawayfromanyartthatwhichremainswillnot
bemuch
alineofwatercressgrowinginthechanneloftheriverametreabovethesurfaceoft
hewater
lyingwithinthemicrophoneintowhichthespeakerreadsiseverywheregeographic
allyelse
thevisitofthefairgroundtothetownisanannualtemporaryencampmentwithinthe
permanent
partsoftheoldlinearenowheavilyovergrownwithnettlesbrambleslonggrassand
youngtrees
dividingpageeightyeightfrompageeightyninethesmallbirdsfromthelargebird
salltherest
engravedcircularscenescutintoemptyboxwoodbobbinsthatmayprintsomecontin
uallandscape
aposterannouncingjoinedupreadinginnglnglshndnglsglshpublshdcolinsacktt
axmnstrenglnd
arpbyherbertreadbyherbertreadherbertreadreadherbertreadbyherbertreadar
pbyherbertread
aswordswerereadtheyimmediatelydisappearedfromthepagethebookprogressive
lybecomingblank
traditionalenglishwatercressgrownforahundredyearsinpurestspringwaterfr
omthesussexdowns
andastanzathegatethearchwaythetransparentscreenthedivisionthatdoesnotd
ividebymarkjarman
asthedaywasdividedintotwelvehoursfromsunrisetosunsetthelengthofanhourv
ariedwiththeseason
aswordswerewrittentheyimmediatelyappearedasanalphabeticalindexatthebac
kendofthemanuscript
thehedgebrownperchingonthebrambleblossomandbaskingonthedustyfoliagemar
kedtheheightofsummer
thewholeoftheoldlinewilleventuallybecompletelyovergrownwithnettlesbram
bleslonggrassandtrees
therestoodanoldstumpnearbywheretheowlsangherhoursanditwasallovergrownw
ithivyitwastheowlshome
aposterannouncingthepublicationofacompletethreehundredandsixtydegreevi
ewasaseriesofboundpages
thostodanoldstoktherbisidetheretheulesanghiretideandwasmidivyalbigrowe
itwasthareuleerdingstowe
iamsittingatatableforexamplewouldbecomeiiamamsittingsittingatataatable
tableforforexampleexample
icouldnotdecidewhetherthiswritingwasbestpresentedascontinualrunontexto
rasseparatenumberedentries
butspedupitisstillamixofborrowingandrewritingandaddingandsubtractingth
ecuttingandpastingofcollage
withafewexceptionsthefirstrenderingofeachoftheseentrieshasmoretodowith
improvisationthancomposition
thiswaswrittenonthefirstdayofspringwithoutanideaofitseventualextentand
thereforeitsfinalpositionhere
goingonandonandonandonandonandonandonandonandonandonandonandonandonand
onandonandonandonandonandonand
itwasbroadcastforthefirsttimethenwithoutannouncementoradiscernableinte
rvalrebroadcastimmediatelyafter
thescriptfortherecordingcontainedmissingwordslinesandpagesbuttheplayba
ckwaswithoutanypausesorintervals
buildingandtakingapartandrebuildingandtakingapartandrebuildingandtakin
gapartandrebuildingandtakingapart
severalmeandersontheriverareclosetobeingdetachedandisolatedbytheflowof
wateronlyreplenishedbyrainandflood
uniformhandkeyedinenglishwritingseriesprintedoutarchivetextstockflusht
rimmedclothandpaperpastedboardmodel
themoreamistakeisrepeatedthemorelikelyitistobenotedbuteventuallyitwill
becomeinvisibleandnolongerbeamistake
theonetotwentyfourscalemodelversioncondensedandminiaturisedadaytoanhou
rayeartothreehundredandsixtyfivehours
thesubjectmatteroftentendstoappearinclustersanditistheaccumulationofth
eclustersthatdevelopsanyoverallmeaning
thefunctionofmarginaliaistheannotationofmeaningwhiletheresponsibilityo
fthemarginalisthedemonstrationofmeaning
anitinerantsquatterscampitisanassemblyoftentsandsheltersonapieceofscru
bbycommonlandontheeasternmarginofthetown
itchangeditscourseoncetwicethreetimesfourtimesfivetimessixtimesseventi
meseighttimesninetimestentimeseleventimes
echoprereleaseechorecordingechorecordingechoprereleaseechoprereleaseec
horecordingechorecordingechoprereleaseecho
lampneonlightssteeltableelevenmetalcabinetseachwithtwentytwoshelveshol
dingtwohundredandfortytwopaintedwoodensigns
inamuseumasinglelargetemporarysculpturedeployedmoveableequipmentfromth
ebuildingchairsclampsladdersneonlightstables
inthedaysoftwomanoperatedbusestheroutesofjourneyswereperformedbythedri
verandthebellringingorbuzzerpressingconductor
criticalcommentswouldbemadetotheconductorifadriverfailedtorespondtoare
questtostopthebusbypassengersintendingtogetoff
lookoutyouarenotlookingwhereyouaregoinglookoutyouarenotlookingwhereyou
aregoinglookoutyouarenotlookingwhereyouaregoing
itisimpossibleforanybodybuthewritertoidentifypreciselythatwhichisofutm
ostprimacyinapieceofwritingandthatwhichispadding
manykindsofrecordoverrepresenttheunusualifsomethingisnotputonrecorditm
aymerelyhavebeentoocommonplacetobeworthmentioning
hedescribedbeingmidwayandbeingabletodiscernthegapofasinglepealbetweenb
ellschimingthehoursintwochurchtowersafewmilesapart
anindexisessentiallyaseriesofsignpostsarrangedalphabeticallythemanuscr
iptitselfisaseriesofsignpostsarrangedsystematically
duringtheyearlongsurveyseveralphotographsdepictingaerialviewsoftheplac
ewereusedasmarkerswithinthedetailedpagesofthedaybook
aperiodofalifecomprisingvisituponvisitbutnevertothesameplacetwiceabiog
raphicalfragmentinparallelwithachronologicalgazetteer
asasouvenirormementoofbeinginaplacethepostcardiscompletelydeficientapl
aceisatleastasmuchwhatcanbeseenfromitaswhatitlookslike
pleasetellusastoryandexplainwhatitmeansthentelluswhatyouareuptopleaseg
iveusanideagiveusacluetelluswhatyouaregoingtotellusnext
itpresenteditselftypicallyasajigsawofmanyirregularpartsorcountieswhich
whenfittedcorrectlytogethermadeanirregularlyshapedisland
bothlandandseafoldingoutfromthebookitshowedthelinesoffoldingandunfoldi
ngthesurfacesofrockandvegetationandofwaterseamedandangled
placedamongstclosedpagesthesinglepositionalmarkermightindicatethesucce
ssivewhileseveralpositionalmarkersmightindicatethelocative
apartfromthedatewhichoccupieswhatisessentiallyatitlepagethesuccessiono
fblankpagesareinterruptedjustoncebyadrawingofaplantspecimen
intheabsenceofanytextorillustrationsthenumberedpagescouldbeseennotonly
asthemeansoforientationwithinthebookbutastheactualtextitself
itisimpossibletodeterminetheconcernsineventhemostrestrictedandselfcont
rolledimprovisationwhethertheyarestructuralthematicortextural
afootlongmodelofaredtruckandtrailerinmetalandplasticrepresentingthepro
posedideathatafullsizeversionwoulddriveendlesslythroughgermany
watchingandlisteningfromthefootbridgecrossingtheroadtheflowofthetraffi
cisseenandheardwithinthestrictcounterpointofthedualcarriageways
thecastconcretetunnelbuilttomaintaintherouteofthefootpaththroughtheemb
ankmentwasalsobuiltasabridgeforthetrackofthenowdisusedbranchline
whatwasonceapaththroughawoodisnowafootbridgeacrossamotorwaythesoundsof
birdsongcontainedwithinthevolumeofthewoodthesoundoftrafficbeneath
itwasextremelyunlikelythatanyonewouldperceivethatasetofequallyspacedal
phabeticalmarkershadbeenputintothebanksoftheentirecourseoftheriver
throughoutburmatoyotapickuptrucksfittedwithbenchseatsforuseasbusesarek
nownaslinecarswhileinjapanesethelineoftheequatorisknownastheredroad
presumablythelineofpaintedandnumberedstonesleftacrosstheriverbedwastop
rovidearecordableanalogueofthevaryingwaterflowinthechanneloftheriver
withoutapparentreasonseveralstringlineshadbeenfixedfrombanktobankanddu
ringtimesofnearfloodthedebriscarriedonthesurfaceofthewaterwasattached
triphoppyisthetitleofabookbybobcobbingandlawrenceuptonfromtheirdomesti
cambientnoiseseriespublishedbywritersforumindecembernineteenninetynine
thepoetlaureateandrewmotionduringaradiobroadcastdistinguishingtheactiv
itiesofhisworkinglifedescribedhisfaxmachineasbeinglikethemillontheflos
s
thebackwardsandforwardslocomotionofscrollorreelheldagainstthecylindric
alplatenofthemechanicaltypewriterthelineofsightoftheindividualcharacte
rs
interruptorinterruptorinterruptorinterruptorinterruptorinterruptorinte
rruptorinterruptorinterruptorinterruptorinterruptorinterruptorinterrup
tor
thedescriptionofasmallphotographbetweenabookcaseandawindowdepictingthe
spinesoffourtatteredschwittersmonographsheldintheglasgowschoolofartlib
rary
ittersmonographschwittersmonographschwittersmonographschwittersmonogra
phschwittersmonographschwittersmonographschwittersmonographschwittersm
onogr
itwasbeingreadaloudwitheverysinglewordannouncedbytheadditionalwordstar
tthenthewordthentheadditionalwordstopeveryseparatewordindividuallybrac
ketted
havingcommencedanimprovisationandduringitsprogessapointofcentralityand
symmetryhadbeenlocateditwouldbeabsolutelyclearwherethethingshouldpreci
selyend
inphotographyasinrealitytheedgesofthingsarenotindicatedbeyondthepassag
eofonethingtoanotherthingthereisnoequivalenttotheuseandconventionofwor
dspacing
thephotographofwimschippersemptyingonebottleoflemonadeintotheseainnine
teensixtythreeinthecatalogueforanexhibitionofdutchartistsworkinginandw
ithnature
rollgripalignmentpartitionairtightribbontransferpadpointerslippingshif
tstopsshuttlecarriagesafetycarlooperaserkazoosilencermarkerstencilcirc
ularperiod
thevariabledistanceinminutesandsecondsfromaparticularmeandertoanotherf
urtherdownstreamwasmeasuredatthesametimeeachdaybythepassageofapieceoff
loatingwood
startonestopstarttwostopstartthreestopstartfourstopstartfivestopstarts
ixstopstartsixstopstartfivestopstartfourstopstartthreestopstarttwostop
startonestop
andexactlythisfarfromthebeginningandexactlythisfarfromtheendandexactly
thisfarfromthemiddleandexactlythisfarfromthebeginningandexactlythisfar
fromtheendand
loadedunderwithagreatbaggagewhiledraggingalongbehindasteadilyincreasin
gweightofvariousassortedpreviouspartsandpushingaheadafurtherinvisibleq
uantityofparts
diditseemasurprisethefirsttimeandthesecondtimediditseemasurpriseasecon
dtimeanddiditseemasurpriseasecondtimeanddiditseemasurprisethfirsttimea
ndthesecondtime
anditisbecauseeverybodytalksdifferentlyanditisbecauseeverybodywritesdi
fferentlyanditisbecauseeverbodywalksdifferentlyanditisbecauseeverbodyd
rivesdifferently
thetrackcurvedawaytotherightonastiffrisinggradientthenswunglefttocross
themainlinebymeansofanirongirderbridgethemainlinesweepingunderthebridg
eandawaytothewest
speakingforfortyyearsandwritingbyhandforthirtysevenyearsandreadingalou
dforthirtysixyearsandwritingwithatypewriterfortwentytwoyearsandwordpro
cessingfortenyears