Networking

            In the latest edition of the novel “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame Smith, Smith writes an introduction.  In this introduction, Smith tells the reader that he and his long-time editor have never met in person, but have exchanged thousands of e-mails over the course of the years.  I couldn’t help but think of this while reading the article (it might not be so much death of the author, as death of the editor, but still).  In that vein, I chose to write about networking.

            This section of the piece focuses on authorship and how newer modes of connectivity blur the lines of ownership because efforts are more communal, i.e. wikipedia.  I kept wondering if that communal effort has not been present for a long time, just less questioned.  Doesn’t every book written have an editor, a proofreader, someone who picks the font, designs the cover, does the binding, and so on.  Why are these boundaries any less obvious than the question of ownership over digital texts?  Why does that even matter?

            When I thought about my animation, I had to wonder, who designed the type face?  Do they, or the designer of the software, deserve less credit than I for using the tools they put at my disposal?  For the example that we saw in class of animated poetry, who owns the authorship for those, the writer, the animator, or the designer?  I can understand the complexities behind the legal logistics of copyright, but haven’t these issues always been there, just unquestioned?  The editor knows he will not have a byline on the cover, so it’s okay, apparently.                   

            Reading the blogs in this class give me an odd sense of ownership over the author.  Martha, for example, sits near me most every class period.  She is quiet, and we rarely have a chance to speak.  Since I read her blog, I have a misplaced intimacy with her.  I know that she is a writer and elaborates on academic texts in a profound but easy to follow manner.  It is the same way with facebook.  I often see people’s status updates without speaking to them.

            I could ask Hayley, “How was your trip?” without her mentioning it to me.  I own that experience as much as she does with little to no physical interaction.  That is a disconnected kind of relationship, one that has never had to be dealt with before the advent of social media or blogs.  Do we know these people, really?      

           

Plan for the Short Animation

I had turned in a poem that I had written, intending to use that for this project, but I think that animation may end up a bit lengthier than this project calls for.  I might save that for the long project.  Here is what I am thinking now:

late into October
the tomato
plant blossoms


Though short, I think that there is a lot of expressive potential in these words and the greater meaning that can be drawn from them. 

Reseach Project Plan

I have been consistently inspired by Alastair Reid this semester and I would like to keep going with that for my research project.  I would like to explore more of the context; what was happening when he was writing?  What, or who, inspired his work?  What other work does he have?  What is he writing now?  I really appreciate how whimsical his work is.  I have been feeling stifled lately by the expectation that poetry must have some serious, profound extended metaphor.  Poetry can be profound while being fun.  Reid proves that there is wit in whimsy.
I read that Reid was still alive and I think I might write to him, see what he says.  In the course of my research, I want to read more of his work, what other scholars have said about his work, and what he has written about other people's work.
The first draft of the paper is due November 11.  I will send out a letter, or some form of communication, to Reid right away.  My plan is to read one journal article a week, depending on what I can find.  Reid has five original books of verse, he has done more translations, and I would like to have at least two of those from different points in his time-line to draw from.       

Conversation Project Plan

Lindsey and I are planning on making a vintage style PSA about staring.  We intend for this to be an ironic commentary on people who take small, inconsequential quirks and make them into unnecessarily large issues.  This is especially timely right now due to the upcoming elections.  Many voters throw away the chance at an informed vote and cast their ballot based on trivial, silly reasons that are made out to be important.  We want to research current voter patterns, public speaking patterns, and other behaviors that politicians have and see if there are any correlations.  We also want to look into the aesthetics of vintage PSA’s to incorporate those visual stylings.  Our two voices will be that of ‘Billy” the naïve young boy who is being taught about the graces of not staring, and his teacher.  To make the voices visually distinct, we will use different fonts, colors, and sizes.  We are paying special attention to the timing of the words on screen to make sure that viewers will catch everything presented.        

Word Project Response

I wouldn't necessarily used the word 'surprising' to describe the feedback that I got, but I thought there was some good suggestions for things that I had not thought of.  I was glad to see that people connected the idea of the cycle of the piece itself being a ring.

If I had unlimited time I would perfect the attempted 3-D animation. Even after the lesson, I had a hard time getting the exact look I saw in my head.  I eventually had to stop tinkering because I was making it worse, not better.  The gradient tool didn't reveal it's secrets to me fully, and the path of the rings stumbles.

I think I am learning lots of cool things to do in Flash.  I can't think of the things I don't know how to do until I want to do them, so for now, I am pretty satisfied with my knowledge.

I want to continue to refine my deliberateness in animation.  My choices in writing short stories and poems don't need to be as purposeful since they are easy to edit.  I would like to focus my ideas and stories before I start animating so that I don't feel trapped by one expression.       
  

Word!

Whew!

Literary Materialism what?

            I'm not an art historian.  I'm not well versed in modern art movements.  I know the terms that everyone knows; Dada, Post-Modernism, Modernism, Cubism, an so on.  I'm clearly no expert.  With that disclaimed out there, what I got from the article was attention to detail.  Artists started paying attention to how text looks, not just what it 'says'.  Ducker points out that these artists and poets thought about the aesthetics of words in a way that hadn't been thought of before.  Sure the monks drew ornate illustrations to go with their hand-copied texts, but they weren't thinking about words the way that this new generation of artists was.  There was a push towards noticing every detail of how something looked on a page, like a font where the lower case f wasn't symmetrical.  This is pretty significant.  We might take concrete poetry for granted or even say it's simplistic and lacks technical prowess, but before it had been done... It was unthinkable and so original.

            That being said, the article was stuffy.  I kept thinking about my future identity (or not) as a writer.  If this is what scholars do to artists, I don’t want it.  This mechanical vivisection of what was genuine, emotional art takes away from the raw authenticity that was originally intended.  It’s disingenuous and loses the sense of organic creation.  The article wasn’t disrespectful, it was even reverent at times, but I couldn’t help but think that the art wasn’t meant for her, or for that.  What would the original artists think of how their work was talked about?  Would the shake their heads, would it be disgust or amusement? Did they mean the depth that is assigned to them?  Is the pretension always present?        

 

Two Poems by Alistair Reid

 

            I looked at two pieces by Alistair Reid, whom I had previously claimed an interest.  I stand by that interest and explore further in the poems, “Counting” and “Mandala: Dilemma”. 

            Reid brings a certain playful seriousness to both of these pieces.  He is questioning the sounds, meanings, power and influence of words, among other things.  In “Mandala: Dilemma” he writes the words “The Pen Is Mightier Than…”  in a circle.  There are no words breaks, so it could be read as “The Penis Might Tier Than…” or “Migh Tiert Hant Hepenis” or Ant Hepe Nism Ightie Rth”.  Just written on a line the words, “The pen is mightier than” do not have the impact as they do here; written in a circle with a title that directs the reader’s interpretation.

            In “Counting”, as we discussed in class, Reid manipulated the sounds of the words that people use to count.  He builds narratives out a rag tag group of words that sound good together, but he also does so much more. 

            The big questions in both of these works are; what do words mean?  What power do they have?  Why do they mean what they mean?  Can they mean anything else? Do they have to?

            I claimed that Reid was playful and I stand by that, however I think one of the main differences in the two pieces is the tone.  “Counting” starts out very playful and sounds fun, especially when read out loud.  It progresses to be more serious and probes those questions as the lists of words goes on and the subtext builds.  “Mandala” Dilemma” reads as more somber than earns its wit after more thought.

            Looking at the first lines in the three columns in “Counting” we see the words “Ounce…/ Instant…/ Archery”.  The words feel different, ounce ends lightly on the soft c.  Instant ends a bit harder but is softened by the dominant nnnnnssss sound.  Archery is a hard sounding word, made up of forceful r, ch, and ry.  The connotations of the words also evolve.  Ounce is non threatening, archery the opposite, and instant plays both sides.  As archery becomes buchery and treachery the ominous feel builds. 

            Counting can feel childish, the repetition of units that seem minute and are everyday occurrences.  What else do we count?  Truly, everything in life is counted, even life itself.  On graves we list the dates of birth and death, numbers. 

            “Mandala: Dilemma” to me, reads in the opposite manner.  Reid tells us it’s a dilemma.  Mandala is the Sanskrit word for circle.  A never ending dilemma.  The poem itself is a play on the old saying “The pen is mightier than the sword” which points to power and control.  What is Reid saying about the power of words?

            Language doesn’t end.  It is the original technology and the basis of our whole society.  Progress is quantified in literacy rates.  The power of language doesn’t end.

            The clever side of “Mandala” Dilemma” snuck up on me after staring at it for a while and appreciating the power of the question.  That Reid even thought to put this phrase to print in this manner, is playful and it is questioning.  Critics might say that it’s overly simplistic, anyone could have written that.  There’s no technical skill.  I would ask them, why didn’t anyone else do it before then? 

            The tenacity and boldness of this style of writing is what I hope to keep with me.  The courage to put forth original thought.  The creativity to work outside of the tradition and the wit to make it work.