The Afterschool

The AfterSchool is a work space and test platform for queer writers. The collective aims to subvert and repurpose how literature is made and read. It fosters modes of writing that creatively respond to expectations, limitations, and exclusions of the literary machine.

The visual identity of the workshop is casual in its approach. It is based in language rather than form, its foremost concern being the uninhibited exchange of meaning. It positions itself as a riverbed to the unpredictable ebb and flow of public discourse.The system uses a modified version of Helvetica and Times New Roman, both of which were chosen for their ability to serve as invisible carriers of information.

Presently, the project is focused mostly on a book of prose titled Gay Poetry, as well as a virtual poetry reading on Second Life, an avatar-based online video game. The melding of these two disparate worlds pushes the classical, rational forms of typography, creating a playful visual conversation centered around the idea of recontextualization. The project is ultimately an exploration of language—language as information, and language as form.