Sophisticated, irreverent humour marks Donato Mancini’s debut volume of concrete poetry. In a parody of literary modernism, Ligatures embraces both visual and verbal beauty. The poems and visual pieces are interrelated and, taken together, form suites or sequences of poems. Each piece intentionally echoes themes and concerns from its fellows, creating a visual and thematic dialogue between works. Drawing heavily on the work of bpNichol, and informed by contemporary visual art practices, Ligatures is unafraid to wallow in the vernacular of popular culture. Conventions of typography and comic book panels join Mancini’s takes on the currently ubiquitous @ symbol to create a lighthearted and learned look at the relationship between poetics and art.