Ursonate (1984-present)

Ursonate (Kurt Schwitters, 1932)

This solo performance marks the rare (perhaps the first?) occasion of a woman performing Schwitters' sound score-text-poem - a piece de resistance of Dadaism. Initially performed by Book with an ensemble headed by Andy Laties in 1984 at Chicago Filmmakers and other locations as a duo with Laties in Chicago. Her first solo performance of the Ursonate was at Roulette in New York City in 1996.  

Book, was invited by curators Paul Bright and Marcus Keely for an exhibition called, “Letterforming” that addressed the “complex history of letters and words” at Hanes Gallery, Wake Forest University and included works by John Cage and Robert Brinckhorst.  

The performance was documented and is included in the Pennsound collection of the Center for Programs in Creative Writing at University of Pennsylvania, along with commentaries and interviews with Amy Catanzano and David Ford which aired on the North Carolina National Public Radio station, WFDD. 

Book was also invited to perform in Berlin at SomoS in the summer of 2014 for the launch of Transart Institute’s Summer Residency.