February 24, 2010
Dr. Liu
E-Poetry Interaction Response
There is no doubt that electronic poetry is a unique medium for authors to express their creativity. The original works being produced by writers all over the world, are unlike any type of literature previously available. Thanks to the vast improvements in computer animation technology, e-poetry has developed into its own literary genre. Like all other original works, e-poems are only as limited as the imagination of the person writing, and the capabilities of the computer technology of the day. For this reason, e-poems are widely varied, and one can make the definitive statement that no two electronic works are exactly the same. The goal of this analysis is to elaborate on why e-poetry is so unique, and expose the wide variety of material that falls under this category of literature. The best way for someone to gain a better understanding of the impact that technology has had on writing, is to take a look at a few examples of electronic literature. Only after analyzing some of the available literature, will one be able to fully appreciate the revolutionary impact technology has had on the modern literary work.
The first piece of original work I would like to look at is "Soliloquy" by Kenneth Goldsmith (http://vista.csus.ct.edu/webct/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct). This particular electronic poem is a prime example of computer technology can change the face of a literary work. The "title page" opens with a simple white screen that displays the name of the author and the title of the work. When the user then clicks on the word Soliloquy, they are shown a brief quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein "Don't for heaven's sake be afraid of talking nonsense! But you must pay attention to your nonsense!" (this is the English translation the actual quotation is in German). Directly underneath this quote is a brief piece of dialogue in which a reporter asks "Why don't you write the way you talk" followed by a response by Gertrude Stein "Why don't you read what I write". After the user clicks the "enter" icon directly beneath the blurb, a screen displaying the author's name and a right to left listing of the days of the week.
The user can then choose to click on any of the days of the week. After clicking on one of the days of the week, (in the screen shot below Wednesday was chosen), the reader is presented with another screen.
At this point, the reader now has a variety of options, by clicking on one of the numbers listed the reader can change the first word in the dialogue. In the image above, the number "1" begins the dialogue with the word "Hi". When the reader moves the mouse to different locations on the screen different pieces of the dialogue are revealed.
Moving the mouse to different locations on the screen will lead to different statements appearing on the screen.
The user can choose to cycle through all seven days of the week and by clicking on one of the numbers listed at the top, choose ten different opening statements for the dialogue.
There are thousands, if not more, possible combinations of dialogue that the user can choose from. This level of interaction actually allows the user to read the poem in a different way every time they open the file. I chose this e-poem because it demonstrates how user interaction allows electronic works to be unique to every person that reads it, each time they do so. I will elaborate more on this point later. While reader interaction is critical in this electronic work, not all e-poems prompt the reader to perform some type of action on the screen. Some e-poetry simply require the reader to read or watch what the author has created.
One common type of electronic poem, is known as a flash or action poem. In this type of electronic work, the viewer clicks the play button and watches a flash video. An example of this, is Roberto Gilli's "War" (http://www.sitec.fr/users/akenatondocks/DOCKS-datas_f/collect_f/auteurs_f/G_f/GILLI_f/Anim_f/war_f/war.html). In this work, the user must click on the word "play" to begin the poem. The poem begins with an image in the top center of the screen. The first image is a blurred black and white picture of a man's face with the words "Welcome" superimposed across the screen.
As the video continues the, word "Welcome" begins to become distorted and brake apart, all the while the blurry black and white images in the background continue to change until the word "In" becomes discernible.
The poem continues to cycle through a series of four images as the letters in the word superimposed on the screen continue to change.
If watched from beginning to end, the words read "Welcome In A New Millennium". Although the poem is technically only one phrase long, the compilation of images combined with the phrase helps illustrate the author's message.
Clearly, e-poetry can be widely varied, thanks to the creativity of the author and technology being implemented. Perhaps one of the best qualities of electronic literature, is that every time the reader looks at an e-poem, they pose the question, why did the author chose to do this? Since there are so many tools available to electronic poets, the choice of how they utilize the technology can speak volumes about the message of the poem. In "Soliloquy", the user chooses the dialogue that appears on the screen. No matter how many different place the user moves the mouse, it is difficult to create any type of coherent dialogue. On paper, this style of writing would be considered complete non-sense. Yet, this style of writing helps demonstrate the author's message in electronic literature. The quote by Wittgenstein at the beginning reveals the author's intent in his writing. The bit of dialogue at the bottom also conveys Goldsmith's message. The nonsensical nature of the dialogue in "Soliloquy" is intentional. The opening page alludes to the fact that reader interpretation of writing is everything. Goldsmith demonstrates this by showing the reader random bits of dialogue, and allowing the reader to make his own assumptions about what is going on in the conversation. In this regard, the reader interaction makes the poem what it is. The nonsensical, nature of the poem is essential to conveying Goldsmith's message. Ultimately, the electronic elements of this work help to add to the overall experience. This fact is also true of Roberto Gilli's "War". The compilation of images in the background adds to the message of the poem. All of the people in the photographs have looks of despair on their faces. These faces are intended to represent the faces of war. Imagine for a moment if the poem was simply a super-imposition of the statement "Welcome to a new Millennium". The reader would be confused and unable to interpret the meaning of this work without the slide show in the background. The unique blending of images and text flows well together and helps elaborate on the author's message. Roberto Gilli is trying to make a statement about the pain that war brings and will continue to bring in the new millennium. The pictures in the poem were the compelling aspect of the work not the text. In this way, electronic literature is significantly different from simple written text.
After reviewing several pieces of electronic literature, I feel I can definitively say that the electronic elements ultimately help convey an author's message in a way that simple text cannot. The unique blending of sounds, images, and texts works to improve the reader's whole experience. I must admit that my initial opinion of electronic literature was not a positive one. Yet, after reviewing a few more examples of e-poetry, I have completely reversed my conception of the effect technology has had on literature. Although my first blog post would indicate otherwise, I would now have to classify myself as a fan of electronic literature. Roberto Gilli's "War" was far more moving than I believed e-poetry could be. The blending of the painful faces of war with text created a far more visceral experience than simple text could produce. I look forward to further expanding my understanding of electronic literature and the technological tools used to create these unique works.
