When Joakim Norling of Timglaset Editions told me he had chosen green for the end papers for Judith: Women Making Visual Poetry after a colour used by Judith Copithorne frequently in her work, I knew I’d found the right publisher for the book that I had conceived of with Judith as its inspiration.
I asked Judith if we could name the book after her. She took some time to think about it and wrote “My mother chose that name as she thought that Judith was the first woman warrior in the bible which is not exactly the case i believe but it is a common idea so in that way Judith could be seen as a good name but i am a bit surprised. Also there was always a bit of a disconnect in my mind with that name. When My mother thought of that name she was it seemed to me thinking of political activity, she was the first woman in the british commonwealth to keep her maiden name and art, literature, concrete poetry always seemed to her, I felt to be a bit too much of being a dilettante.”
Judith was very precise in her thinking and I always appreciated that about her. She was honoured and let us use her name for the book. I had the great opportunity to work closely with Judith in the making of the anthology and inclusion of her work. After issues with e-mail and the internet, she suggested we talk on the phone and to my delight, we had several lovely conversations, which I am quite grateful for.
My first encounters with Judith’s visual poetry emboldened me. At a time when so much of vispo seemed to be a male-dominated arena to show off black and white grid work that worked very hard to follow in the tradition of Noigardes and other Concrete Poetry grid worshippers, Judith was doing colour and playing around a lot. She wasn’t a slave to analog. She worked with Adobe Illustrator before I’d even heard of the program. Then I saw her handwritten work and was in love with that too. Having her as a role model when I was told that few women made visual poetry made a huge difference to me. I write more about this in the anthology.
I am grateful to Eric Schmaltz and Talonbooks for publishing Another Order, Selected Works in 2023. I had the great honour of reviewing the book for Arc Poetry Magazine. I will always be inspired by the range of work that Judith created and her willingness to share it with the world through her social media posts on Facebook and also on Flickr. I hope that through Judith: Women Making Visual Poetry and Another Order, Selected Works, many more people will hear about her work and be inspired to take the kinds of risks with language and white space that Judith did.
Amanda Earl (she/her) [photo credit: Charles Earl] is the editor of Judith: Women Making Visual Poetry, the author of The Vispo Bible: Genesis and numerous visual poetry chapbooks. In 2024 she was the facilitator of the League of Canadian Poets workshop: Visual Poetry for Fun and Exploration, and offers customized workshops for women and non-binary artists wishing to make visual poetry. Amanda creates so that kindred misfits don’t feel alone. She is guided by duende, whimsy, exploration and connection. More info: AmandaEarl.com.
