ACE

First published but never distributed (after 315 of the 350 copies were destroyed in a flood) in 1974, then republished to avant-garde acclaim in 1977, Raworth's early book, illustrated by Barry Hall, effects a curious, tripped-up rhythm of extremely short lines (usually one word; occasionally four), flickering thoughts and no punctuation. In stripped down language, Raworth (Clean & Well Lit) evokes a stuttering, attention-deficited perception that is continuously surprised and sometimes overwhelmed by its own observations: "of face/ your own/ movie/ but what/ is happening/ can also/ mean/ PAUSE/ PAUSE/ a verb/ stars/ is undue/ experience/ element/ of subjectivity." (July)