In an introduction to his book, ABC, the poet bp Nichol complains about "the artificial boundaries we have placed on the poem." It is his expressed desire to break down these boundaries, to make the poem live again, to free the poem in order to bring it closer to the reader…. The regenerative process begins with experiment; Nichol utilizes basic elements of language and alphabet—sound and shape—in an attempt to remake poetry from its roots.

In the ABC book, the technique is that of a child playing with the shape of the letters of the alphabet. On each page he repeats images of one letter, overlapping, twisting, and combining them until the original shape disappears and a new shape appears from the combinations….

Searching for the primitive roots of poetry, Nichol becomes involved in the minimal poem—a poem articulated in the briefest and least dramatic...