Instructions

1. Find a poem to typeset. The poem should be written by an outside source, and be published online, either by the author or a third party at some point in time. Be prepared to explain why you chose the poem.
2. Typeset the poem on a webpage using basic HTML elements.
3. Think about other ways of displaying the type, and decide on 5 rules for how the type will change in a series of 4. Example: One rule is that the poem will increase in scale, so do 5 variations of the poem changing in size. Another rule is that the text will get increasingly harder to read. A third is that the type will incremently move off the page.
4. Using HTML (and CSS, should you feel appropriate) make 4 variations of the poem for each rule. Think about how breaking up each line affects the legibility. Think about scale, and consistency. How do you think the author would have intended the poem to be read? How would you design it? What would be the most inappropriate setting of the type be?
5. The entire series should be in black and white, unless you have a specific reason for adding color.
6. The website should include the name of the poem, the author, the variation title and variation number, and a link to the next poem somewhere on the page. This archival notation should feel separate from the poem.
7. This is a type only project (no images)

Deadlines

Starting poem in html due January 31 with ideas for 5 rules
Final project due February 3

Resources

Poetry Foundation
Poem Hunter
UbuWeb
Poetry Archive

Credits

Inspired by the “25 Variations” project by Laurel Schwulst from her Very Interactive course.