[Newspoetry] NewsPoet in Chicago Tribune!

[gillespie william k]

Paul,

I need a copy. I read it online. The article contains a theoretical
description of hypertext written by me (uncredited), which is actually a
satire of a theoretical description of hypertext, which goes to show that
satire of theory can be as good as the real thing. And then there is a
description of newspoet Dirk Stratton being abducted by aliens and forced
to write in space. The whole article is online at the Trib's site.

I agree with the author Julia Keller that Scott is a very scruffy
individual, but disagree that electronic literature is limited to
hypertextual (meaning the reader chooses the reading path (as in, for
example, reading the Chicago Tribune)) stuff: it also includes the use of
the image, other forms of command-line interactivity, VRML modeling, and
randomly-generated gobbledygook, etc. Just in the entries for the ELO
awards we find a work of literature which is actually a font you install
on your computer and write with, a poem you navigate by breathing into a
microphone (except I had a shitty microphone so I had to sing Beatles
songs at the top of my lungs), and the winner of the poetry competition is
a work that is in no way interactive: it immobilizes your computer (Mac
only) and plays you a 20-minute poetry movie.

Still, the article is a good one. She likes to make fun of Scott, and I
can get behind that style of journalism. In fact, sometimes I'm amazed
they let that woman write for their paper at all. She's too damn
thoughtful, and her writing style is lush, descriptive, humorous, and in
every way inappropriate for a metropolitan daily.

William



On Sat, 19 May 2001, Paul Kotheimer wrote:

> friends and neighbors,
>
> In case you missed it, NewsPoet and initiator of the Electronic Literature
> Organization Scott Rettberg was featured with an article on the FRONT PAGE
> of the FRIDAY (5/17) TEMPO section of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE!
>
> Congratulations to Scott.  Hopefully he won't forget the humble newspoets
> as he takes his career e-literative e-literary career into the
> stratosphere!
>
> for Champaign-Urbana newspoets, i snagged a paper copy of the article
> yetsterday, and i'll make photocopies.
>
> paulkotheimer:)
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