Spaces to Say
the Same (Thing)

Espacios para decir lo mismo, by Hanni Ossott.

This is the first book by Hanni Ossott (1946–2002). It strikes readers as being at a distance from the abiding tradition of prose poetry in Spanish. This is Ossott at her most innovative: we find in these pages the unfulfilled promise of a narrative, with the ephemeral presence of some ghostly characters. She would go on to write in a more confessional style, marked by love, memory, and emotional pain.

This book is based on the binding of a 1765 Bible that opens like a “French door,” evoking domestic and household themes that are featured in the author’s work. It has a third spine added in the middle, so both volumes can be read at once, in “scriptorium mode,” or articulated to read each language individually. This edition comprises two volumes in a box, clothbound, with three square spines, three Pantone inks for the cover, with a hand-tipped photo.