Falling Asleep in America
2024
Allen Ginsberg's poem set in a book printed on artisenal papers made from American materials.
By Peter Duffin
The word 'body' is printed on paper made from 1930s Chicago paper samples.
In the book Falling Alseep in America each word of the final line of Allen Ginsberg's poem by the same name is printed on paper made from a different American material. For example 'body' is printed on paper made from 1930s Chicago paper samples, 'roar' is printed on paper made from U.S. Air Force uniforms and 'in' on paper from Californian seaweed. The very material of the book tells a parallel story to Ginsberg's poem, reinforcing his poetic travelogue through America. Many of these papers were custom created for this project.
The papers are cut into the shapes of imagined American 'states'. The shapes of these 'states' follow the roads and rivers of America: an homage to Ginsberg's American travelogue collection of poetry, The Fall of America in which Falling Asleep in America appeared.
In 2024 this book was awarded the Premi ArtsLibris at the international artists' book fair ArtsLibris, Barcelona.
En este libro, Falling Alseep in America, cada palabra del verso final del poema homónimo de Allen Ginsberg se imprime en papel fabricado con un material estadounidense diferente. Por ejemplo, «body» está impreso en papel fabricado a partir de muestras de papel del Chicago de los años 30, «roar» está impreso en papel fabricado a partir de uniformes de las Fuerzas Aéreas estadounidenses e «in» en papel fabricado a partir de algas californianas. El propio material del libro cuenta una historia paralela al poema de Ginsberg, reforzando su poético diario de viaje por América. Muchos de estos papeles se crearon a medida para este proyecto.
Los papeles están cortados en forma de «estados» americanos imaginarios. Las formas de estos «estados» siguen las carreteras y los ríos de América: un homenaje al poemario de Ginsberg The Fall of America, en el que aparece Falling Asleep in America.
En 2024, este libro recibió el Premio ArtsLibris en la feria internacional del libro de artista ArtsLibris de Barcelona.
The word 'in' is printed on paper made from Californian Seaweed.
The word 'returns' is printed on paper made from Donkey faeces.
The word 'flickering' is printed on paper made from 1960s Utah diner placemats.
The book comes in a presentation case featuring all the 'states' based on the roads and rivers of America.
Allen Ginsberg’s poem Falling Asleep in America appears in his book The Fall of America - poems of these states 1965 - 1971.
Thank you to the Allen Ginsberg Estate for permission to reprint Falling Asleep in America and the After Words from The Fall of America.
The body of the books is printed on Crane’s Lettra.
All the insert papers are from the Shotwell Paper Mill in San Francisco, except the Donkey faeces (Aquari Paper Mill) and tree bark papers. Many thanks to Shotwell Paper Mill for these beautiful papers.
Specifications
The book is printed using Kennerley 42pt and 10pt types, which were designed by Frederic Goudy.
This book was created and printed by Peter Duffin at the Animales de Lorca letterpress print shop in Valencia, Spain in 2024.
Book: 205mm x 302mm