“Why would it not think of its typographic form already from its birth!”: a genetic approach to the typography of Aaro Hellaakoski’s “Kesien kesä”.

‘Why would it not think of its typographic form already from its birth!’: a genetic approach to the typography of Aaro Hellaakoski’s ‘Kesien Kesä’ The study of visual poetry often focuses solely on the iconicity of the poem, i.e. the interplay between expressive typography and the linguistic text, leaving the possibly existing genetic documents and the processes they witness with little or no attention. The article shows how genetic criticism (critique génétique) can enrich our understanding and interpretation of visual poetry by examining the manuscript, proofs and published versions of the poem ‘Kesien kesä’ (The Summer of Summers) from the typographically experimental collectionJääpeili(1928) (Ice Mirror) by the Finnish poet Aaro Hellaakoski (1893–1952). The genetic approach to the typography of ‘Kesien kesä’ reveals a multiphase process of trial and error, where Hellaakoski strives to achieve a satisfactory visual rendering for his poem. Besides trying out different typefaces and sizes, Hellaakoski is especially concerned with the use of white space on the page, especially with indentation and stanza breaks. Based on the semiotics of Charles S. Peirce, the article proposes a genetic conception of typography as a more abstract entity, albeit that the interpretation of the genesis of typography is characteristically material. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]