Born in Los Angeles in 1946, Robert Bringhurst is an award winning Canadian poet, typographer and author. Perhaps best known for The Elements of Typographic Style – a reference book of typefaces, glyphs and the visual and geometric arrangement of type, he is also a respected translator of poetic works from Haida into English. He lives on Quadra Island, near Campbell River, B.C.

We met in Ottawa to talk about his definitions of both the book, as articulated in The Surface of Meaning, and typography which should

Invite the reader into the text
Reveal the tenor and meaning of the text
Clarify the structure and the order of the text
Link the text with other existing elements
Induce a state of energetic repose, which is the ideal condition for reading

Robert Bringhurst on Book Design