Hypercompendia

What comes to mind in examining Dreaming in Hypertext as an example of enabling a reader to discover more about the writer’s intent in using metaphor in poetry (or elsewhere for that matter) is that while it allows interactivity, it in fact is making the writer’s perception of his poem more clear and thus less open to interpretation by others.

In Mary Ellen’s poem, I might have understood the poem to be about one’s frustration with mankind’s inability to care for one another and respect the environment.  Luckily, I guessed pretty close to her intent–which I’ve confirmed by following out the links–so can feel proud of myself perhaps for understanding the poem.  We’re talking only metaphor here, and Mary Ellen’s writing is fairly honest and thus states a position without necessarily cloaking her words in symbolism. 

What we can take this as, then, is reinforcement, or visuals, or footnotes perhaps.  There is a more important message in the linking here to me, and I’ve mentioned this previously: by using links that are not structurally related by category or time or place (though time may be questionable–further investigation may prove it to be a case of all current state of affairs, thus setting the timeline of the poem), we do see a reference that is global in nature, therefore focusing on mankind rather than a society or culture in particular.  This does indeed tie the links in an underlying manner that makes it more relevant.

Interesting way of looking at hypertext; interesting way of using it.

Once again referencing Mary Ellen’s piece Dreaming in Hypertext, we follow the first link out from the line:

I dream in fuchsia of the coming of the day

We are brought to a website that gives us information on Mayan end-times and this is where the poet’s mind was in writing this line. The next:

when all the madness will have quietly gone away.

The link from ‘madness’ brings us to an NPR article that speaks of the Birth of the Atomic Bomb.  This ‘madness’ ic clearly seen as the greater weaponry that man creates that cannot possibly survive; the poet seeing the end of the madness coinciding unhappily with the end of the world.

I seek the clearness of the laughing Buddha’s gaze

Which lands us with the Laughing Buddha himself, and an invitation to the reader to familiarize himself with the doctrine and wisdom of Buddha.

To harness wisdom, and to clarify my stay

For the poet, clarify denotes a meaning beyond comprehension and goes as well to environment. With the current emphasis on global warming, clearing up understanding goes hand in hand with clearing the atmosphere as a way to communicate the future.

Amidst the starkness of the ones who’ve lost their way.

Here the poet again sends us around the globe to an outreach program in Africa and caring for those who require the assistance of those more fortunate.  The links emphasize a world that the poem by itself, without the links, does not bring into focus.  Society is mankind, all mankind, is what the poet is able to relate by the use of hyperlinking.

One of our locals has tried her hand at hypertext poetry and it has led me to wonder at the use of hypertext to uncover those deeper meanings of metaphorical poetry.  Here’s Mary Ellen’s first stanza:

I dream in fuchsia of the coming of the day
when all the madness will have quietly gone away.
I seek the clearness of the laughing Buddha’s gaze
To harness wisdom, and to clarify my stay
Amidst the starkness of the ones who’ve lost their way.

Now Mary Ellen has played with color here–and my own settings don’t jive with her original poem–and while one might suspect that the colored text represents links, in this case, it is the underlining of the text that establishes the link.  The coloring is the choice of the poet for another use. 

Aside from the rhyme and structure, let’s look at its statement composed of the text within the stanza first. Since we’re not concerned here right now with a pro analysis of the poem but rather with the use of hypertext, my own unprofessional interpretation will have to suffice.  I see the hope in the first line evidenced by the idea of dream and the color fuchsia. This hope would exclude what is seen as ‘madness’, likely a generality of the masses and the current state of society (as the poet sees it).  Then there is the seeking to meet that hope, with the happy yellow of ‘laughing’ and the suggestion of the peace of Buddha, as well as the wisdom which he represents.  The speaker wishes to understand or ‘clarify’ his place in the world, despite the relative emptiness or ‘starkness’ of the rest of society.

Not necessarily what every reader would see, and different still from what the poet may have been trying to say. Therefore, we can follow the provided links and what they tell us about the poem over and above the stated message.

That coming up on the next entry…

A hypertext poem in living color by Mary Ellen here.  Do we have a convert?  Will the next step be Storyspace?  Inquiring minds want to know…

Came across the first real review of Paths–in the Polish site Techsty, and while I don’t have a very good translation (my folks are gone, but I do have a friend whose mother can likely give me a better one), I’m most appreciative of the honesty in the critique and in the consideration given my work.

It seems that what the reviewer has noticed is the exact problem I felt I was having with this piece: it’s not a very good example of the hypertext format.  Though the language was complimented, the hypertext story came off as "flat." I can’t help but agree–when I compare it to others I’ve read.  But then again, I’ve had a resistance to reading most hypertext stories for the usual reason, that of getting frustrated by losing the thread or fear of losing it. I realize the solution is to "embrace the hypertext" form as Mark Bernstein suggests, but this is easier said than done.  It’s like breaking a habit; a long established pattern of behavior. 

I’m not sure I can or want to write hypertext stories for the sake of fulfilling an obligation to form, though if you want to write poetry in haiku, you’d best stay with the syllable count or not call it haiku at all. It’s something to think about.

But I do want to thank Techsty for their interest and review, and for including my work on their site. I intend to take their words to heart and consider them seriously in any further attempts in Storyspace hypertext writing.  To Techsty: Dziękuję!

Here’s an interesting graphic novel, hypertext, and audio all mixed into one:  nawiz

Very nice interview with Mark Bernstein at the Ireland Intruders where he discusses weblogs and the importance of this phenomenon below the surface of its more obvious method of communication.

Here’s downtown Pittsburgh from my room on the 9th floor of the Omni William Penn Hotel:

I
sat in that courtyard watching people and the activity and what it
produced is a story.  There were about twenty teenagers skateboarding
off a ramp one early afternoon; there were pigeons flying in flocks or
pecking around for food, seeds tossed by an old woman from a brown
paper bag.  One pigeon sat in a tree where a boy’s shoe was wedged
inextricably between trunk and branch. A shabby-suited man sat on the
granite bench, expressionless, staring out at it all.

Hypertext will tie this moment together, the branches of the individual characters combining to come to this single event.  And Storyspace is going to help me tell it.

(Dupe Post on Spinning)

Naturally, the first thing I’m working on is the mostest fun:

What makes the geraniums glow in the early morning mist?  How does the attention of the prismatic effect of the rain enhance the depth of color? What turns plain text to rich html?  How does the writing space focus the language?

This geranium laughs in reply.