Go to Euphoria Home Page
For our May 15 discussion/response to Selfe and Hilligoss part III, "Expanding Definitions of Computer-Based Literacy," I presented a portion of a hypertext fiction in progress, and asked the class to comment on their experience. In my e-mail posting I asked a number of questions. Specifically, I was most interested in how the class (a group of readers) responded to the text. Would they, I wondered, experience the "Vertigo or Euphoria," that Johnson--Eilola claim can occur with hypertext? Would, as Johnson-Eilola claim, the "distinction between 'writer' and 'reader' collapse?" Finally, I asked: Is hypertext fiction literature? (Vicki Henriksen, e-mail response to Selfe and Hilligoss, part III.)
The e-mail response and subsequent class discussion both proved lively. The following highlights some of the issues raised in response to the questions. Note that we were only able to raise issues; no definitive "answer" was even postulated. Our opinions proved to be as broad as our backgrounds.
"Read doesn't seem to be the right word to apply to hypertext....(it) seems more like movement through text than reading to me" (Bonnie Reidinger--e-mail response).
"My first read of Euphoria was an attempt to create a super-text, a process I found extremely difficult. One problem was that my choices weren't goal or end-product directed. I wasn't looking for anything in particular...rather that I was on a train, riding through tunnel after tunnel" (Susan Delgrange--e-mail response).
I, reader, to have more control (although I'm not sure I want it....hypertext fiction allows me to "play with a lot of neato technology...." (Vicki Henriksen e-mail posting).
"Your project may provide an argument in favor of something new, something that can help us to think about the separation of the world from our ability to perceive and express it" (Jeffery Loew, e-mail response).
"It (hypertext) does offer a different sort of preparedness....haven't some of our most stunning insights come from unexpected connections" (Susan Delagrange).
"The things many of the essayists we have been reading praise about hypertext seem to have more to do with politics than with literature" (Bonnie Reidinger).
In class, Louis Ulman commented that hypertext could be treated as a new form of verbal art. It was also noted that hypertext, and narrative hypertext in particular, could be construed as a game. The closest our group came to a consensus was that hypertext fiction needed to be treated on its own terms, that there was a place for it, but it may not necessarily fit into the realm of "academic" literature.
I raised some concern that my readers might find themselves "lost in hyperspace" (Dryden, 283), that the story-line, links, navigation issues, etc., might prove too confusing to the reader. However, none of my readers reported feeling "lost."
This hypertext, however, might represent the author's opinion more than some readers may want: In his e-mail Jeffrey Loew commented that inclusion of the adjective "more" in the "More Dreams" node "seems to advocate a particular order that the author prefers, a 'correct' order" (Jeffrey Loew e-mail response).
As the writer, I chose to vary the length of my nodes, making some much longer than standard screen size. I also elected to insert links only at the end of each node, rather than within the texts as is common with many other hypertext fictions. Susan Delagrange reported liking the mix, but noted: "The longer the text...the less control seems to rest with the reader...doesn't a concern about 'intrusion' in hypertext seriously privilege the author's voice?" (Susan Delgrange, e-mail response).
These statements indicate that authorial control and privilege are things to avoid in hypertext. Bonnie Reidinger, an MFA student in poetry, emphatically claimed in e-mail and in class that a writer brings his or her "unique vision and perspective to your work and to the world." Reidinger also resisted any notion of collaboration: she did not want to make additions and/or changes as she was invited to do. Susan Delagrange, however, quickly e-mailed her own addition with suggested links.
You decide.
||"My First Hypertext," an essay on the writing of Euphoria||
||