Week 3 "bring it to the table"

Chapter 3 of Electronic Literature discusses Hypertext Fiction, which is the product of interlinking fragments of text, images, sounds, etc. The process often takes old ideas and changes or adds to them, making something entirely different. Rettberg claims, “...ideas, themes, and motifs from earlier traditions should be remixed, recycled, represented, shaped into new forms,” (pg 56). Hypertext Fiction shifts away from the all familiar “linear storytelling,” instead embracing multiple threads of story in each text. Works can also contain fragments that are more randomized and disconnected, while also following a sort of storyline or adding to a narrative. I found it interesting that every time we use the internet, we are using Hypertext, though the more I think about it the more it makes sense. We are constantly using links and following different paths on the internet and social media, which is exactly what Hypertext is, though it has become a novelty in regards to writing, as we are unfamiliar with the notion of following links and pathways in a story. I also found it interesting that it is no longer a popular form of digital literature, though it was instrumental in the establishment of electronic literature as a field. Though it may not be as prevalent, it did serve as the basis for many other forms of digital literature that are more popular today. 

I chose to explore J.R. Carpenter’s story Entre Ville, which outlines her time living in Montreal. In the very center of the page is a drawing of her apartment building, as well as a poem about her everyday life. When you click on different elements of the building, say for example the door, a different window pops up that has information about that door or doors in general, which adds to the overall narrative. Similarly, there are images scattered around the page that when clicked on provide more detail. The story isn’t linear, as you could read it in any order, and yet all of the elements together provide the narrative of her life in Montreal. It was quite fun to look at and read, while giving me a different perspective of how literature can be written and read.