Gerrit Noordzij’s
The Stroke:
Theory of
Writing

[ translation: 2005 ]




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[ 1. the white of the word ]

A letter is two shapes, one light, one dark. I call the light
shape the white of the letter and the dark shape the black.
The black consists of the regions of the letter that enclose
the white. White and black can be replaced by any combination
of a light colour and dark colour, and light and dark can
switch roles, but the intriguing eff ects of these permutations
lie outside the scope of this book. Thus I will call the
strokes the black of the letter and the enclosed shapes the
white of the letter,