The Wild Wilde Web Welcome

"To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up."

- Oscar Wilde

A poet in the 19th century could not be successful by holing up in a garret and writing madly. A social dimension was required. Wit was required. A really good poet had to be able to show up at a party and say something, at least one sentence, that would be so very clever as to be repeated by more than one person, thereby assuring the poet's reputation. In the 20th century, wit was practiced by Dorothy Parker and the members of the Algonquin Round Table, but in recent times wit seems to have fallen in disfavor.

Oscar Wilde was a master of wit, which is the focus of Michael Tidmus' Wild Wilde Web. Originally, Michael was just going to put a page on the Web of Wilde's witticisms, but he decided that there had to be some kind of contextualization, so the site expanded to include a biography, a list of Wilde's works, other people's quotes about Wilde, and links to Wilde-related sites on the web. The material on the Web site was salvaged from an exhibit Mr. Tidmus had taken part in called "Serious Games: Interactive Images." He chose to create an interactive piece about Wilde, using the paradigm of a Victorian parlor game. Some time later, he was asked to be "the participating American artist in ArtAIDS (http://artaids.dcs.qmw.ac.uk:8001) - a project of AIDS-related images that went online on World AIDS Day, 1994." This introduction to HTML gave him the expertise to program the Wilde site.

The graphics on the site are particularly exceptional, which is no wonder, since Mr. Tidmus has been a graphic designer since 1984. He says he "spent seven years freelancing Apple Computer's advertising graphics for BBDO and Chiat-Day."

One of the most extensive areas on the site, and probably the most useful, is the bibliography section - a list of books about or with references to Wilde. The only drawback is that these books should probably have been linked to some other online reference that provides further information about them.

When I asked Mr. Tidmus what Wilde might have thought about the Web (a question I acknowledge is pretty stupid), he kindly replied, "I think Oscar would have applauded the accessibility of knowledge and deplored the lack of beauty inherent in much Web design."-WKC
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An Index of Poets
This is an electronic version of the *Representative Poetry* anthology published by the U. of Toronto press. The medieval to early twentieth century period is covered, with several poems each from 98 poets. The Romantics make a good showing, as do the usual suspects: Johnson and Jonson, Pope and Swift, Milton and, of course, Bill S. Nothing surprising in the selection. Poems are indexed by keyword, date, title, and first line. A straightforward and uninspiring interface allows untroubled browsing. This page is pleasant enough to visit, and it succeeds in its modest task as an online version of the anthology.-SS
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Edgar Allan Poe's House of Usher
If you're not familiar with the work of Edgar Allan Poe, you must immediately acquaint yourself with it. Poe fans will greet this Web space with joy; it's a fine example of what a fan site should be: the complete works of Poe, biographies, filmographies(!), discographies(!!), and more. Well-organized, cleverly presented, engaging - I can find nothing to complain about here. A great deal of time was obviously spent putting these pages together, and I encourage everyone to pay a visit, if only to view the Web at its best.-SS
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Keats John 1884 Poetical Works
My favorite poem is "The Second Coming." Oh, wait; that's Yeats. This site is a component of the Project Bartleby work at Columbia University, which is making selected texts available on the Web. Keats' collected poems are here, especially-troublesome terms are annotated via hyperlink, and a first line index is provided. A no-frills design makes it easy to find that beloved poem in ready-to-cut-and-paste format. Project Bartleby is a must-have bookmark for any reader. I cannot praise its efforts enough; only through such work will we reach our goal: all the world's literature available online.-SS
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LIVING POETS EJournal Home Page
This site introduces itself as "The home of Powerful New Poetry,"and a manifesto is offered for your reading pleasure. I hate pompous overstatement, and I believe that manifestos and art are incompatible, so I must admit to an initial negative reaction. A slick interface - much more attractive than most e-zines - gives access to well over 100K of poems. Most of them are awful, of course, but I came across a few that really work. The site looks good, and there's a large body of work to examine. I suppose I can forgive them their excesses.
-SS
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Shelley Percy Bysshe 1901 Complete Poetical Works
The Romantic poets seem a bit unseemly to the jaded youth of today. Passion? A burning obsession to draw forth the secrets at the heart of being? No thanks; the opening band is just about to take the stage. This site is another element of the Project Bartleby efforts to put classic literature online. Not all of Shelley's works are in place yet, but a few of the major texts and plays are already available. If you need a Shelley fix in electronic format, it just might be here. Those researching the man should go elsewhere.-SS
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The Complete Shawian
I was excited by the prospect of a Shaw home page. "Wow," I thought, "the old crank online!" As I quickly discovered, there are Shaw repositories out there, but this is not one of them. This Web space is devoted to its creator's scholarly analysis of Shaw. A few essays and a Master's thesis are present, as is a novel by the page owner. Those interested in critical readings of G.B. Shaw might take an interest in this site; those wanting the undistilled spirit should try a Web search.-SS
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The Internet Poetry Archive
This very well-constructed and tastefully designed site features the work of living poets. Living poets are a rare breed, and should probably be on the endangered species list. I'm sure this is why the site only had three of them (when I visited). Besides the sheer novelty of discovering living poets, visitors to the site can sample audio clips of the poets reading their poems. Somebody realized poetry is meant to come in through the ear, and not the eye. Will wonders never cease?-WKC
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The Milton-L Home Page
How many lives have been ruined by "Paradise Lost"? How many otherwise educated people have lowered their heads in shame, forced to confess that they were bored to tears by this poem? Those individuals who do find pleasure in Milton will delight in this site. Links are provided to Milton's prose and poetry, info on the Milton listserv is available, and scholarly articles are online for perusal. The site aims to be - and is - a comprehensive resource for the wide-eyed believer seeking Milton news on the net. Only the lack of centerfold GIFs might disappoint the Milton fan.-SS
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The Spenser Web: The Shepheardes Calender
The beauty of this site is that it shows how the Web can really enhance literary studies. Each page of Spenser's Shepheardes Calender can be viewed in one of four different versions, including a scanned copy of the original printing. To name the site "The Spenser Web" is a little bit misleading, however, since it only has the one work. Also, getting through the first couple of pages is a little annoying, since the links are hidden at the very bottom of the pages.-WKC
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Turkish Poetry Home Page
Often, late at night, I find myself in a panic. The world is simply too big, and I will never know more than the smallest portion of it. This page did nothing to allay my fears. Poetry - in Turkey? It seems I've managed to pass a lifetime without giving any real thought to the possibility. A wide selection of Turkish poetry is presented in the original and in English. Numerous scholarly works assist the reader in placing the poetry in context, and the simple layout does not interfere with efforts to explore the site. A pleasant curiosity for any lover of words.-SS
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Vergil's Home Page
Latin fans will find this page quite a treat, since most of the on-location texts by Vergil are in the original. For all of us translation wimps, there are links to English versions of the Aeneid and the Georgics. While the page is tastefully designed, it isn't very well-organized. Its plethora of links, such as texts, bibliography, pictures, and related articles, are all just thrown together on one page.-WKC
B+

Virtual Henry
Ah, the play made from the movie by Kenneth Brannagh, or was it Mel Gibson? Anyway, something like that. The full text of "Henry V" is here, which should be enough in itself, but we are also demonstrating the powers of HTML. The text is annotated with hyperlinks, which is brilliant, and not only do the annotations have text, they also have pictures, so you can see, for example, what Henry V's father looked like.-WKC
B+

WWW POET'S PARK
Most poetry is bad. Most literature is bad, for that matter, but the rewards of the well-written poem or story are so great that one endures the dreck. Poet's Park is an online literary journal. By the previous rule, it's the case that most of its contents are mediocre at best. The attractive layout and pleasing design make the bad writing endurable, though, and further one's enjoyment of the worthwhile - which is hiding in there, by the way. Handy "mail to" links allow almost effortless feedback to the writers. This small e-zine is worth a visit.-SS
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