Sep 30

What does this reading suggest for reasons why one would experiment with the shape of writing? What does the reading suggest for why people haven’t experimented much with the shapes of writing?

1.“The Greek alphabet was, in Havelocks words, the ‘first and last instrument to reproduce the range of previous orality.”

2.“That is, the Homeric epics embody in writing an-alphabetic modes of language storage.”

3.“The means of language and cultural reproduction always becomes a means of production and variance, as what is “stored” is transformed by the means of its imagined storage, so that it is a matter of morphing more than storing.”

These three quotes stuck out while reading the assigned article.

The first quote states that the alphabet, or written word, was the simply created to capture spoken words. It was used to reproduce what was said rather than give it any form of artistic meaning.

The second quote dismantles Homers epics. These were meant to be epic tales for the ages. The beauty though is not in the story but in the fact that the story was stored.

The third quote is analyzing how we store language. If you think about the different mediums that can be used for literary storage: microfilm, flash drive, computer, book, record and so on. You would have a different reaction a single work depending on which platform you chose to view it, this is what would cause the “morphing.”

So the purpose of experimental literature is not simply to challenge normative ties that go along with the written word, but to challenge how the written word is stored. The storage of the written word defines the context in which the word is viewed. This context then shapes the reader/viewers perception. This perception is what matters. If we simply produced literature in a simple linear format it would be ok, but we are not. By adding motion, color and life to the words we are giving the words its own space in the world.

The Grey Line

What I find curious about this poem is the number of times the word grey is used. I am not sure if the author wrote grey out a set number of times and decided to go from there or if he just had written a certain number of things associated with the word grey, and just formatted them in this manner. This poem structure is abnormal. The lines of grey run down the center of the pages and provide the structure for the poem to be built around. Most poems are just written free verse or have another form of fixed style that deal with pentameter. This style is different because it forces the writer to focus upon one keyword and build upon that. It forces the reader to focus in on the word grey as well and everything else seems to fall into the background.

With the lines of grey centered and fixed it also makes the readers eye jump around on the pages. I found it a little hard to read because of this. I think that was part of the point here as well. We are used to reading left to right up to down. This poem follows that tradition but it does not have set margins. This makes the reader go to way left sometimes or way right and you have to search for the beginning of the next line. This challenge of standard constructs was nice to see. I think we often forget how regimented everything in life is including reading.

The different forms of grey he addresses in the poem are interesting as well.  When I think of grey the only visuals I get are suits and cloudy skies. I think myself and most reader’s associate grey with depression and thing are typically sad. In this poem he expresses the wonders of grey so to speak. He presents visual images that are typically not associated with the color and many items that are not commonly associated with grey.

All this being said this poem works. It takes a boring standard color and with the application of creative structure and though he has brought it to life. Brining grey to life is damn near impossible. If I were to paint a room grey, hand you a grey crayon or a grey piece of paper it is doubtful you would get excited. But here we are shown mountains, birds, silver and many other things we cherish and enjoy. So yes grey is boring but it is art and it is creative.

In Class Uno

I did not focus on form as much as function for this work. I spent a full hour and a half exploring Flash and the commands needed to operate the program. Once I felt comfortable with the interface I moved on to creating something very simple. All I wanted was to have the letter rotate and expand as smoothly as possible. I toyed with with frame rate, how much movement was needed for effect, how many frames are needed to create the desired look. I really spent more time learning the program than creating. Once I did learn the interface I was able to create a second project far more complex in a matter of 3 mins.

I enjoyed the butterfly animation. It flowed very smoothly and did not look rushed. It showed a great amount of technical and artistic skill. I think what I took away from all of the works was the creativity that was produced.

The Letter P

The letter P is a fun letter and is often forgot. It has many fun words that go with it. If you flip it it becomes a d a b a q. It also reminds me of the military. The the strait line is the body standing proud, the curve is the chest of a person pushing out presenting itself for the punishment that is to come.