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Visual features of text in books by Pavel Ulitin // ΠΡΑΞΗMΑ. Journal of Visual Semiotics. 2024. Issue 4 (42). P. 166-184

The Russian writer Pavel Ulitin (1918–1986) is renowned for his distinctive literary style, which seamlessly blends telegraphic writing, stream of consciousness, and visual-graphic elements. Ulitin adopted an innovative approach to bookmaking, crafting his own bindings and enhancing his texts with margin notes, strikethroughs, and quotations. This meticulous attention to visual presentation is a defining characteristic of his artistic vision. This article examines the use of visual elements in Ulitin’s writings, focusing particularly on Makarov Combs the Back of His Head (2004) and Hopeless Journey (2006). In our analysis, we refer to the visual-graphic features of Ulitin’s texts as metagraphemes. These elements organize the information space in a non-linear fashion, capturing the reader’s attention and creating a complex system of semiotic signs. They exhibit a notable degree of anthropocentrism, conveying a sense of a dynamic creative process and enhancing the author’s presence through a richer expression of individual speech traits. The layout of the text on the page, margin notes, variations in line spacing and margins, and the strategic use of abbreviations, strikethroughs, and capital letters to emphasize specific words and phrases all influence the reader’s interpretation. Furthermore, these elements affect the narrative structure, incorporating parcellated constructions and reduced wording or text compression, which influence the intonation and pace of reading. Ulitin knew three foreign languages; therefore, another significant aspect of his works is the use of precise and altered quotations in foreign languages, as well as the incorporation of various languages. Among them, one can find references to works of English and American literature, such as Huxley’s dystopia, and the novels of Maugham and Wells. This serves as a graphic sign that disrupts the reader’s automatic processing of the text, necessitating active decoding and altering the overall page layout. The prevalence of intertextual references in both Russian and foreign languages intensifies this effect, adding layers of subtext and serving as a crucial aspect of the author’s text-creation strategy. These visual and graphic elements are present in both books, although notable differences exist. For instance, Makarov Combs the Back of His Head often features pages that resemble drafts from rough notebooks, characterized by strikethroughs, margin notes, variations in line spacing, and abbreviations. While intertextual references are common throughout Ulitin’s works, they are particularly abundant in Hopeless Journey, which includes more fragments resembling diary entries, visually represented through dates, authorial abbreviations, and references to real dialogues, events, and situations from the author’s life. The diverse range of visual and graphic elements in Pavel Ulitin’s texts is a hallmark of his style. Consequently, these features are essential not only for shaping the visual presentation of the text but also for influencing the reader’s perception and interpretation. His works demand unique engagement from the reader, creating a broad space for interpreting the author’s intentions as a creative endeavor and transforming the reader into a co-creator of meaning in the text.

Keywords: visual appearance of text, punctuation-graphic means, metagraphemes, intertextual inclusions, Pavel Ulitin