Erasure

Quite by accident I happened upon a video of an artist explaining how to create a “ messy journal”. Sixteen minutes later I found myself totally enamored with the process. Of course the first video only showed how to remove all the innards of a book and cover the inside of the hard cover with cotton material. The next video will continue the process— hopefully showcasing the outside cover. 

Not having any hard cover books that I wanted to gut I went to the library where I purchased a one dollar hard covered book. As soon as I purchase some wide masking tape I will proceed to remove the printed pages— the signatures. 

How many books find too few readers and languish on shelves or in stores? How many books see their prices slashed? 

Can I say I am repurposing the book? Suppose I read the words I sever from the spine, underline some thoughts, and save some pages.

 Years ago a short story of mine was published in a literary journal. Two readers sent me letters about how connected they felt to the story. I kept the letters and now wonder how many people—or if any— kept that issue of the journal.