Generative Lit. Project

Name: Ana Peretz

Age: 15

Relation to Rachel Behar: Niece

Hometown: Brooklyn, NY

"I don't really know much about my aunt; she's always so busy working, she rarely comes to any family functions.  But she does always manage to send me gifts for my birthday and other major holidays, so I guess that's nice of her.  Last year, she gave me this really beautiful bracelet she bought in Paris when she was there on a business trip.  It was probably one of the best gifts I have ever received.  Much better than this year's gift.  It was so weird.  She over-nighted this package to me and I thought it was going to be something really good, since I loved my gift from last year so much.  But it was this weird journal that kinda looked like she got it at a yard sale. It was all worn around the edges and the pages seemed broken in, but there was nothing written in it.  It came with a note that said something about how she liked to write all of her most troubling secrets in her journal and that she thought I could benefit from having one of my own and how important it was to keep it in a safe place. 

 I threw out the note and shoved the journal in my dresser drawer.  I mean, yeah, I guess most 15 year old girls like to write about their lives in journals; I just prefer to live my life than to write about a non-existent one.  I through out Aunt Rachel's note, but now I sort of wish I kept it.  Some days I feel like seeking her out, handing it back to her and asking her just what kinds of secrets she has, exactly.  I figure they can't possibly be that interesting.  I mean, sure, she's traveled all over the place because of work, but shes always working.  What's so scandalous about thirsty legumes?  I'll give you a hint....nothing."

'Cause You're a Sky Full of Stars

I have to admit, I knew that I was going to love Like Stars in a Clear Night Sky as soon as I read the title.  Anyone who knows me well, knows about my slight obsession with all things space related (star-gazing, taking umpteen pictures of the moon, or just enjoying sitting out in my back yard until 4am on a clear night). 

I absolutely loved how it  began with the voice over and subtitles as the stars slowly started coming out (how they often seem to in the actual night sky).  I also love how the voice over introduced all of the stories that the narrator intended to tell in such a beautiful way and compared them to stars in the sky (because, after all, we each have our own "sky full of stars").  We are all made up of the stories that we tell, hear, experience-- and actually, we're also all made of stars.

My initial "navigational" instinct was that I was lost when the subtitles ended.  I waited for something else to happen and when it didn't, decided that maybe it was my turn to do something (though I wasn't sure exactly what).  So I quickly (almost furiously) hovered over the stars back and forth and nothing seemed to happen.  I kept hovering and saw a flash of white text that disappeared as quickly as it came.  So I hovered slower the next time, realizing that each blue star was a story. 

The first star I chose was the story of the narrator's love (because I'm female and subsequently an extremely emotional being--haha).  When I got to the "end" of the story, it seemed as if it ended abruptly, and I wasn't sure if that was intentional or if I was missing something.  Turned out, I was missing something (more hovering--go figure).  I then read each of the stories in a clockwise manner-- going from my starting point at the star in the middle at the bottom of the page and working my way up to the left and around (I may have to put some more thought into why my approaches usually seem so formulaic).

I really cannot say enough about how much I love this piece of e-lit-- BY FAR my favorite this semester.

We're All Mad Here

“Only a few find the way, some don't recognize it when they do - some... don't ever want to.” 

― The Cheshire Cat

"Twelve Blue," for lack of a better term, was "interesting," to say the least.  I approached it three separate times, all because I was interrupted for some reason or another and could not devote an entire 90 minutes to it in one sitting.  I'm not sure if this helped or hurt my general understanding of it. 

I began by just clicking a random spot in the middle of the opening graph, figuring that it really didn't matter where I began, and assuming that I would be confused by its "non-linearness" anyway.  I read through a few screens clicking on hypertext when it was available and going back to the main screen to click another area when it seemed that I had come to a dead end.  

About halfway through my first sitting, I realized that I may have been able to better keep track of the characters and their interwoven stories had I started some sort of name/word web as I read along.  But I didn't, so I was left to memory.  I noticed that the graph had twelve lines that started off separate and then met each other in certain spots.  I have absolutely no proof, but I assume that each of these lines represents a character's story and the meeting points are when their paths cross. 

I found myself revisiting the website for longer periods each time I sat down with my laptop because I was determined to understand exactly how it worked, but I don't think that even the amount of time I spent with it was enough.  The stories of Samantha and Delores, Beth, Eleanor, Edward, etc. still do not seem to all fit together in my head. While I feel as if it is something that may be achievable if I continue to read through it over and over, I am also left with this sense of confusion that almost resigns itself to being lost in the madness.

First Impressions

They say that first impressions are the most important.  While I sometimes agree with that statement, I often find myself in situations where my first impression (whether it be of a person, a book, a movie, etc.) is not only incorrect, but entirely the opposite of the following lasting impression.  

My first impression of electronic literature (before I actually spent any time experiencing it) was one of excitement and intrigue, and I have to say that this aspect of my impression has not changed much after delving myself into some of its inner-workings and the actual literature itself.  Before I read or experienced any electronic literature, I had a very long conversation with a close friend about the difference between electronic literature and gaming and if there really was any sort of difference.  This, of course, was prior to coming across this statement in our reading:

"The demarcation between electronic literature and computer games is far from clear; many games have narrative components, while many works of electronic literature have game elements. (As a pair of mirror phrases in Moulthrop's Reagan Library puts it, 'This is not a game' and 'This is not not a game'.) Nevertheless, there is a general difference in emphasis between the two forms.  Paraphrasing Markku Eskelinen's elegant formulation, we may say that with games the user interprets in order to configure, whereas in works whose primary interest is narrative, the user configures in order to interpret."

Yet, even after reading this statement, I am still unsure of how persuaded I am that electronic literature is different from narrative gaming, other than that the graphics/sound quality aren't as good and there's less funding because it's more difficult for corporate companies to make millions of dollars from selling electronic literature.  I don't mean to say that I don't think there is value in electronic literature, or that gaming is superior, but after some dabbling in the exploration of it, I wonder if electronic literature could benefit from modeling gaming.  

Some of the more prominent selections of e-lit that stand out to me at the moment are the following: 

- Birds Singing Other Birds' Songs
- Carving in Possibilities
- Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw  
- Project for Tachistoscope [Bottomless Pit]



My first question: What is up with the birds??? Yes, visually, it was interesting.  However, the sounds and movement (that I wasn't sure if I was or was not controlling with the click of my mouse) were highly confusing and what seemed to be more "electronic performance art" than literature.  Of course, this is only my opinion as an individual new to the genre, but this was my first impression of electronic literature (because it just happened to be the lucky winner of being the first icon that I clicked on).  First impressions, thank goodness, are not always the most important, because I can't say that (I don't know) "reading" (I'm not sure what else to call it)  Birds Singing Other Birds' Songs was a miraculously moving and life-altering experience for me.  

However, as I continued down the list of colorful icons, I found myself more and more pleasantly surprised.  When interacting with Carving in Possibilities, I began to understand a little bit more, the purpose and the art of electronic literature (although I still am not entirely convinced that it wouldn't be more enticing with gaming-level graphics).  While the premise and the idea impressed me, I found it difficult to read some of the lines underneath the mouse icon as I scrolled over each (very sensitive)space.  I felt the same sort of frustration when I explored Project for Tachistoscope.  Because I read the introduction to the piece, I understand that the work was meant to be a sort of "word assault" on the reader as they struggle to keep up with the rapid fire of words and somehow not only read all of them, but keep track of them in order to formulate sentences and ideas (all while under extreme pressure to not miss the next word or words while deciphering the meaning).  I assume part of the experience is to intentionally make the reader anxious, and while I believe that the author succeeded in that endeavor, I can't say that I necessarily enjoyed it (though I suppose I can appreciate it as an art form).



My favorite of the selection, so far, has been Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw.  While I haven't exactly grasped it's purpose, or even really the entire premise of the story, I felt more comfortable in its space.  It felt more game-like, more interactive and, quite frankly, easier to navigate and understand.  I felt that this, of all of the pieces I had chosen to examine, was the most linked to the literature genre and similar to the experience one gets when reading print literature.