Nicht bei Trost.
A never ending Haiku by Franz Dodel
2004 – on going
Since 2002, award-winning Swiss writer Franz Dodel has been working continuously on his project Nicht bei Trost. The never-ending Haiku follows the strict pattern of the traditional Japanese form of poetry, but repeats the cycle of 5-7-5 syllables over and over and over. Personal thoughts as well as thoroughly researched annotations and image references flow into his work.
The project initially began online but quickly expanded to publishing a book for every 6000 lines, earning it the Staatspreis Schönste Bücher Österreichs in 2008.
As a self-initiated project in close collaboration with the writer, we developed an entirely new website that not only mirrors the design of the books but also displays the complete text in an interactive way, providing Franz Dodel a new tool to continue his work.
In order to fit 6000 lines of poetry, notes and references into one pocketbook, the paper must be delicately thin.
This maximises transparency so that text and images from the reverse side are faintly visible, creating a subtle overlay effect.
For copyright reasons, each reference image from the website is drawn as a black-and-white interpretation by Serafine Frey (Rudolf Steiner for the new edition of A never ending Haiku).
#1 Each line of the never-ending haiku is assigned its own number. A real-time indicator displays this as you scroll through the extensive literary work. The URL changes accordingly, providing each line with a unique permalink.
#2 Each book consists of 6000 lines. On the website, the book’s title updates accordingly as you scroll through.
#3 Hovering over a note highlights the corresponding lines in the poem.
The notes are randomly arranged in different positions based on their length, creating an ever-changing layout.
#4 The full-text search feature allows users to scan the entire project and lists results by text passages and notes.
Nicht bei Trost. Sondagen
L. 42001–48000, 2024
Nicht bei Trost. Tessitura
L. 36000–42000, 2023
Nicht bei Trost. Capricci
L. 30001–36000, 2019
Nicht bei Trost. Sequenzen
L. 24001–30000, 2016
Nicht bei Trost. Mikrologien
L. 18001–24000, 2014
Nicht bei Trost. Carmen infinitum
L. 12001–18000, 2011
Nicht bei Trost. Haiku, endlos
L. 6001–12000, 2008, 2019 (second edition)
Nicht bei Trost. A never ending Haiku
L. 1–6000, 2019, (new edition)
Published since 2019 by Edition Korrespondenzen
First edition of A never ending Haiku published 2004 by Edition Haus am Gern
Illustrations:
Serafine Frey
Rudolf Steiner for the new edition of A never ending Haiku
Typefaces in use:
ITC Berkeley Oldstyle by ITC
Post Grotesk by Josh Finklea