Univocalic

Univocalic

A univocalic is a type of constrained writing that uses only one vowel (i.e., only uses one of A, E, I, O, or U). It can thus be considered a lipogram, excluding the other four vowels.

One of the best-known univocalic poems was written by C.C. Bombaugh in 1890, centred on the vowel "o". Here's a sample couplet:

:No cool monsoons blow soft on Oxford dons,:Orthodox, jog-trot, book-worm Solomons

Bombaugh's work is still in print, and his "Gleanings from the Harvest-Fields of Literature" in particular is full of oddities of this kind.

The Austrian poet Ernst Jandl composed his univocalic poem "Ottos Mops" (Otto's Pug) from German words with only the vowel "o".

A contemporary example of English-language univocalic poems is Canadian poet Christian Bök's text Eunoia, published by Coach House Press in 2001.

External links

*" [http://homepages.nildram.co.uk/~simmers/81jim.htm Jim] ", a univocalic poem by George Simmers
*" [http://www.ubu.com/sound/bok.html Eunoia] ", recordings of Christian Bök reading the complete text on UbuWeb


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  • plurivocalic — |plu̇rə+ adjective Etymology: pluri + vocalic : having more than one vowel compare univocalic …   Useful english dictionary

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