Poetic flesh wounds

May 7th, 2009
Papercut Heart - Web exclusive!
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Poetic flesh wounds
Roseanne Harvey
 

 
Papercut Heart, by Ian Sullivan Cant (Conundrum Press), 172 pp.

Small is beautiful in Papercut Heart by Montreal-based author, artist and zine-maker Ian Sullivan Cant

Papercut Heart is the perfect name for Ian Sullivan Cant's collection of illustrated zines, all of which have a delicate, slightly wounded quality. Conundrum Press has gathered up most of the zines Cant has put out since 2006 through his The Unkindness of Ravens Press and published them in one delightful little package.

"There is some new material," Cant says. "We wanted to maintain the feel of a collection of zines, so it's the same size as my zine." Which would be just one quarter of a 8.5-by-11-inch page.

Each of Cant's zines is essentially an illustrated poem. "I start with a line of poetry and then imagine what it would look like."

With the pairing of verse and illustration, Cant explores heartbreak and loneliness, and the failings and imperfections of language. These themes even turn up in his eighth poem, written entirely in Morse code.

"I saw it as an interesting way to integrate words and drawings. I wrote the piece, then 'translated' it into Morse code. It was a fascinating process, and I watched the code became more than just a pattern. I saw how the letters echoed each other, and sounds and repetitions."

Cant was initially concerned about possibly alienating readers with a coded zine, but was surprised when the response was exactly the opposite. People emailed him with attempts at decoding the message, and others told him stories about their grandfathers using Morse code in WWII: "Somehow, people found the challenge engaging."

Connecting with readers is important to
Cant, who has been involved with the small press and zine community for years, and who has been going to zine fairs since he was 14 years old, when he created his first zine, At Home Haircut, in 2003.

Over time, he's found a unique way to express himself, and his illustrations are distinguished by his use of crosshatching, which Cant describes as "detailed, painstaking and time-consuming." But he's fascinated by the element of precision and cleanliness in the style. Crosshatching appears in Cant's telephone poles, apartment buildings and, of course, ravens throughout the whole collection.

"I want it to look like care and thought went into the artwork," the 27-year-old Concordia graduate says. Cant lists Ann Carson, Nick Cave, Patti Smith and the pre-photographic scientific illustration of J.J. Audubon as the main influences on his work.

"All I ever wanted/ was to make something beautiful," Cant writes in his final poem, dear ____. With this collection of carefully created zines, he has done just that.

Papercut Heart launches with Michael J. Hind's The Undertaking
at Drawn & Quarterly Bookstore (211 Bernard W.), May 13, 7 p.m.