RIDDELL, John. Writing Surfaces: Selected Fiction of John Riddell. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2013. First Edition. 228x152mm. Trade Paperback. New. 157pp. Edited by derek beaulieu and Lori Emerson. John Riddell is best known for "H" and "Pope Leo, El ELoPE," a pair of graphic fictions written in collaboration with, or dedicated to, bpNichol, but his work moves well beyond comic strips into a series of radical fictions. In Writing Surfaces, derek beaulieu RIDDELL, John. Writing Surfaces: Selected Fiction of John Riddell. Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2013. First Edition. 228x152mm. Trade Paperback. New. 157pp. Edited by derek beaulieu and Lori Emerson. John Riddell is best known for "H" and "Pope Leo, El ELoPE," a pair of graphic fictions written in collaboration with, or dedicated to, bpNichol, but his work moves well beyond comic strips into a series of radical fictions. In Writing Surfaces, derek beaulieu and Lori Emerson present "Pope Leo, El ELoPE" and many other works in a collection that showcases Riddellís remarkable mix of largely typewriter-based concrete poetry mixed with fiction and drawings. Riddellís work embraces game play, unreadability and illegibility, procedural work, non-representational narrative, photocopy degeneration, collage, handwritten texts, and gestural work. His self-aware and meta-textual short fiction challenges the limits of machine-based composition and his reception as a media-based poet. Riddellís oeuvre fell out of popular attention, but it has recently garnered interest among poets and critics engaged in media studies (especially studies of the typewriter) and experimental writing. As media studies increasingly turns to "media archaeology" and the reading and study of antiquated, analogue-based modes of composition (typified by the photocopier and the fax machine as well as the typewriter), Riddell is a perfect candidate for renewed appreciation and study by new generations of readers, authors, and scholars. This copy has been signed by Riddell on the title page.and Lori Emerson present "Pope Leo, El ELoPE" and many other works in a collection that showcases Riddellís remarkable mix of largely typewriter-based concrete poetry mixed with fiction and drawings. Riddellís work embraces game play, unreadability and illegibility, procedural work, non-representational narrative, photocopy degeneration, collage, handwritten texts, and gestural work. His self-aware and meta-textual short fiction challenges the limits of machine-based composition and his reception as a media-based poet. Riddellís oeuvre fell out of popular attention, but it has recently garnered interest among poets and critics engaged in media studies (especially studies of the typewriter) and experimental writing. As media studies increasingly turns to "media archaeology" and the reading and study of antiquated, analogue-based modes of composition (typified by the photocopier and the fax machine as well as the typewriter), Riddell is a perfect candidate for renewed appreciation and study by new generations of readers, authors, and scholars.