Over the last two years, creative hypertext and text-rich multimedia
have flourished on the web. Publishers showcase their best authors.
Online galleries create permanent exhibits. Artistic, innovative journals
search assiduously for new writers. I list below a
personal selection
of those texts and sites where computer code and the radical imagination
meet.
The annotations represent my opinion of each text or site. You don't
have to love what I love. And you don't have to hate what I hate.
Choose your own models. Discover what might be, not what is.
Texts by our main authors
LOve
One, Judy Malloy
Twelve
Blue, Michael Joyce
The
Body, Shelley Jackson
Texts by other authors on the syllabus
Hegirascope,
Stuart Moulthrop
Victory Garden, Stuart Moulthrop (excerpts adapted for the web)
Marble
Springs, Deena Larsen (adapted for the web)
Grammatron,
Mark Amerika
Fiction and Poetry
Collaborative hypertexts
(see the Group Project page for amplification)
The
Noon Quilt
A lovely hypertext, curated at trAce, in which writers all over the
world contributed c. 200 words describing what they could "see"
outside their "window" at noon.
The
Eclipse Quilt
A reprise of the Noon Quilt idea, this time asking
writers to submit their meditations on the August, 1999 eclipse.
Kokura,
Mary-Kim Arnold and Matthew Derby
A two-writer collaboration
Bubbe's Back Porch
Like the Noon and Eclipse quilts, a hypertext built from the stories
of many linked, but not seamed, into one. Stories focus on the rites
of passage of family life, the kind of stories we hear as children
from parents and grandparents.
Critical Theory
(ranges from the poetic to the plain pretentious)
Gender
and Identity in the New Media,
panel moderated by Judy Malloy, co-author of Forward Anywhere
Online Writing Communities
trAce
My favorite online community, and NOT just because its non-virtual
home is Nottingham, England. A inviting community, with writing residencies
and mentorships (mostly virtual), a lively set of discussion forums,
invitations to contribute to special events like the Eclipse Quilt,
and live discussions on Sunday afternoons. This community was founded
to encourage new hypertext writers and artists. Visit, register &
participate.
the Fray
"the Fray brings personal storytelling out from behind the glass.
If you believe that life is about personal expression and new kinds
of art, you're invited to join us." Their blurb, not mine, but
it's always an interesting place to go (if sometimes sensational).
The site invites impromptu responses and submissions from readers.
Eastgate
Run by Eastgate Systems, the company that publishes most stand-alone
hypertexts, this very extensive site acts as an information-central
for hypertext writers and readers. You can buy books here but you
can also find reviews of hypertexts, articles on hypertext theory
and technology, original works, guides to hypertext on the web and
much, much more.
Hypertext Magazines
Word Circuits
"Art is the technology of the soul." Investigate further.
In any of you are interested, the editor, Robert Kendall, runs a high-powered,
career-starting creative hypertext
writing class online via New York's New School.
frAme:
the Culture & Technology Journal
An art, theory and culture magazine published by the active, inventive,
international trAce
online community
New
River
An imaginative journal from a serious writer, like Robert Kendal,
of hypertext
Online Journaling
Moments
A visually beautiful exploration of the idea that each person's individual
perception is a priceless addition to human knowledge. Preface by
a quotation from Blade Runner (investigate). You may also want to
explore the other segments of this site.
lemonyellow.com
Another
inventive journal, this time elevating serendipity into an art form.
Untitled
(really, no consistent title)
Less weird than the title suggests, and often witty.
Online Art Galleries
(very useful sources of inspiration for writers)
Dia
Center
The center offers high-quality visual art for the web. The
aesthetics vary from project to project.
My
Millenium
Curated by hypermedia author Christy Sheffield
Stanford, this collection combines both text and art.
Unclassifiable Beauty
The
Visual Thesaurus