Description | Embedded in the ground outside the library is the world’s only circular, mesostic poem. This work forms part of the artwork by artist and poet, Alec Finlay. Mesostic is the term given to a one lined poem inspired by a stem word or name source that is distinguishably highlighted within it. Emphasised by dots are the letters that form the quote ‘thair to remain’, taken from the will of the library’s first benefactor. Finlay also created 100 mesostic poems inspired from works in the library collection For these poems the author’s surname was used as the stem word. The letters in the surname are highlighted in each word of the poem. These poems were made into 50,000 bookmarks and interleaved into the main library books. As well as being made into a book, the poems can be seen displayed on shelf- ends throughout the library. Inspired by the modernist architecture and the realisation that the entire collection was mapped by barcode, Finlay created a barcode out of/for each poem and incorporated this into the display.This artwork was commissioned by the University of Edinburgh in 2009 as part of the University’s Main Library redevelopment. |
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