Composed with letra-set, a dry letter transfer system, "The Alphabet of Blood" first appeared in 1964 in Delta, the little magazine Louis Dudek edited and published in Montreal. Canadian poet bpNichol claimed it was one of the earliest examples of visual poetry in Canada. In lieu of publishing it in a chapbook facsimile edition as he originally planned, Nichol had it reprinted, with an introduction written by Coupey (edited by Robin Blaser), in the Spring 1982 issue of Open Letter, the magazine of writing on poetics edited and published by Frank Davey.