Firefly

Created by Deena Larsen, a self proclaimed "hypertext / electronic literature / new media / electronic expression addict", Firefly is an example of a literary hypertext that is easy to understand and follow through. The main screen of the page is divided into the left hand side which displays the interactive poem, and the right hand side holds the instructions for reading the poem. Also on the right side of the screen, is a short biography of the author as well as a brief description of the technical requirements for the proper viewing of the website. This page layout wis a welcome change compared to those hypertext websites that expect the reader to simply start clicking in the hopes of their eventual understanding of the content.

Listed on Larsen's website as matrix poetry, Firefly consists of 6 stanzas which Larsen describes as "5 lines 'long' and 6 lines 'deep'". The subtitle which reads: "a tale told in 180 degrees of separation" means exactly this; multiplied by each other, 6 x 5 x 6, equals 180. For this poem, the 180 degrees of separation means there are 180 ways of reading it. Typically, poems are read page by page or stanza by stanza and Firefly is no different. The typical way of reading can be done by reading left to right and top to bottom and then clicking on the green arrow on the bottom right hand side of the left screen to display the following stanza. Similarly, each line can be clicked on independently which gives a slightly different maning to the stanza.

This poem, in any way it is read, is about an encounter with a firefly. A firefly, also known as a lightning bug depending on what your parents and older siblings called them, are winged insects that intermittently emit a neon green light. Children often try to catch them in their hands if only to envision a magical orb within their palms.

Read stanza by stanza, the poem begins with the narrator patiently waiting approaching a group of fireflies in the dark. The second stanza describes the wet blades of grass that cradles the speaker as he or she waits. The third stanza describes the emergence of the fireflies who circle around our speaker as he or she holds her breath both in anticipation and so as not to frighten the bright creatures. The following stanza describes her posing her finger as part of a tree for the firefly to land on. Again holding her breath, the next set of lines describes how long the darkness seems to be in between the insect’s sparks of light. SheDeena Larsen subtitles Firefly with the phrase "180 degrees of separation." It has already been established that there are 180 different ways to physically read this poem which is where the number 180 came from. The phrase "degrees of separation" however, has a meaning which reflects upon the poem as well.

The phrase "6 degrees of separation", made popular by a movie of the same name, describes the theory that each person in this world is somehow connected to any other person by only going through 6 people in between. In other words, if Friend A is only 1 degree of separation away from Friend B, then Friend A is only 2 degrees of separation away from any of Friend B's friends. Therefore, each person on Earth is no more than 6 degrees of separation from anyone else in the world. This theory's main statement is that the Earth itself is not such as tremendous as it seems if everyone can be connected through everyone else by going through only 6 people.

This theory, with the number 180 substituted for 6, is reflected in Firefly because the 180 different ways of reading the poem still lead the meaning to read virtually the same thing. As the theory goes, one reading of this story or Meaning 1 can be connected to the meaning of another reading of this story, or Meaning 2 - 180. This subtitle is somewhat a play on words because there are 180 ways of reading this poem and while each is slightly different, they are collectively telling the same story. While these lines are exchangeable, the meaning never changes. Larsen uses verbs and verb phrases with essentially the same meaning like embrace, come in, draw in, spiraling inward, and crawls. The same can be said about phrases such as oncoming twilight, lion-light and flashing quiet glows which all describe the firefly’s appearance. These types of similar phrases are present throughout the poem and is the main reason why this poem works so well in literally any angle.

I appreciate the simple way that Deena Larsen displays this poem. The poem itself is a little bit more complex with its multiple ways of reading, but the site itself was not hard to understand. A reader can still spend a good amount of time exploring the poem and trying as many combinations of lines and stanzas as possible without the clutter of scattered links or unnecessarily rapid switching of screens. Larsen allows her readers to control the text which I believe is necessary for this particular work. Not only is Deena Larsen's Firefly a great example of a stress-free, user friendly hypertext, it is also home to a thoughtful poem that truly lets the reader become involved.

 

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