Requesting Re/Marks #1

Let's start with STOP.

Share a re/mark by sending in pictures of annotated STOP signs.

Why STOP signs annotated with re/marks?

All around the world, and regardless of whether or not you communicate in English, it isn’t difficult to comprehend the ubiquitous STOP sign.

One word. A bold red octagon. Designed to halt movement and heighten awareness of shared space.

It’s an accessible text—not only is it immediately understood by children and adults alike, it’s physically accessible, a sturdy canvas that’s easy to reach, easy to mark with a variety of media, and done so anonymously and so routinely that the annotations of this text are often ignored.

Yet I always pause to read an annotated STOP sign because the original messages broadcast by re/marks matter. The open marking of STOP signs with re/marks is an act intended to circulate notes of local concern and political consciousness.

What and How to Share

Requesting Re/Marks #1 coincides with the upcoming publication of my second book Re/Marks on Power: How Annotation Inscribes History, Literacy, and Justice in mid-April. This call for annotated STOP signs will be ongoing throughout the spring of 2025.

Subscribers, please send annotated STOP signs to: read.remarks@gmail.com

When you share an annotated STOP sign, you're welcome to also note:

• What's interesting about the annotated STOP sign
• Where this annotated STOP sign is located
• Why the message of this annotated stop matters to you

I plan to publish subscriber-submitted examples of annotated STOP signs later this spring. Thanks for sharing your photos with the Reading Re/Marks community.

Looking for Inspiration?

Here are some STOP signs featuring re/marks that I've photographed over the past few years.

In Cambridge, Massachusetts:

In Denver, Colorado:

In Winston-Salem, North Carolina:

Know an annotator who should be featured in Reading Re/Marks? Send me a note!