A long-unavailable classic of 1960s visual poetry that atomizes and recombines the building blocks of language

A key figure—and one of the few women—in the Italian neo-avanguardia of the 1960s and 1970s, Giovanna Sandri (1923–2002) was renowned for the fearless experimentation of her visual poetry, which since 1965 has been featured in numerous Italian collections and journals.

Originally published by Lerici Editore, Rome, in 1969, Sandri’s first book-length work is an experiment in new reading operations. Composed with dry-transfer lettering instead of a typewriter, Capitolo Zero dissolves poetry into single letters and punctuation marks—the atomic particles of language—rearranging them in new combinations that preclude conventional meaning. Reading the book is a game for the eyes.

Sandri's poetry, rooted in the fractured language of Dada, straddles the line between literature and visual art. Long out of print, this reissue of Capitolo Zero embodies DABA's commitment to art, experimental writing and visual poetry.