Shortly after the completion of Semmens and Simpson's Vancouver Public Library, bill bissett (b. 1939) arrived from Halifax to take classes at the University of British Columbia. One of his earliest jobs was at the VPL.

Earlier this year, I co-curated (with Scott Watson) an exhibition at UBC's Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery entitled Letters: Michael Morris and Concrete Poetry, which featured a sampling of early work by bissett, Judith Copithorne, bpNichol and others.

Below is an excerpt from a tour bissett led through the exhibition, beginning first in the "Literature: Transparent and Opaque" section.