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HyperAuthors Manifesto
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1994-10-09
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Howdy, All and Sundry.
A MANIFESTO FOR HYPERAUTHORS
v 1.0
('cause, like, everybody needs a good manifesto. . .)
Art and technology are generally viewed as two separate processes in
the development of human culture. Art may comment on technology (as in
the art of the Futurists), and technology may make very slow and minor
alterations to the development of art (as with the influence of the
development of collapsible tube containers on oil painting), but all
in all the great leaps and bounds in the development of technology
have not drastically influenced the way in which we conceive and
execute art. This is most of all true of literature.
Literature, by its very nature, has thusfar been little changed by the
development of technology in the Information Age and even since the
Industrial Revolution. Literature has been confined by a linear
sensibility since the writing of the first epics. Only in cultures
where the conception of time is not the same as in "western"
civilization does the linear sensibility weaken. And even in such
cultures, the very organization of human thought seems to force
stories and poetry into a linear format.
The Modern era saw experimentation with the conception and execution
of fiction, with the idea that a tale might be told in a fragmented
format. Indeed, even the ancient epic poets understood the concepts of
in media res and flashback. But the way in which we recount a tale or
speak a poem remains unchanged. A poem or a tale unfolds itself on
paper or in voice, either by being read left-to-right (or perhaps
right-to-left), top-to-bottom or by being spoken in sequence by a
voice. Until the development of hypertext, no new technology developed
by humankind changed the essential linearity of literature.
A NEW CHALLENGE
Where do we, as authors, writers, tellers of tales, poets in the
Digital Age stand? What is the value of hypertext? Are the non-linear
capacities of hypertext valuable in themselves, or are we just dancing
gleefully on the grave of the Analog Age, grabbing whatever new
technique reaches us simply because it is new and non-linear? What is
the true usefulness of non-linearity?
What is the responsibility of the author in controlling a text when it
is re-defined by the freedom to be a non-linear entity? How much
control should we grant the reader? (And can the reader be trusted to
hit every salient point when allowed to roam the text at will?)
How will hypertext change the experience of literature? Are we
striking for true innovation of something along the lines of a Choose
Your Own Adventure book?
Most importantly, how will the creation and conceptualization of our
texts change? What new directions can we explore when linearity, plot,
threads of plot, levels of detail, elaborations upon concepts, and
even the length of a work as the reader experiences it are all now
variables rather than constants within a work?
TASKS FOR THE NEW HYPERAUTHORS
* We will consider the essential value of non-linearity as a new
literary force and the uses to which non-linearity may be put.
* We will push the limits of both our creativity and the new
technology. Only through radical experimentation will we achieve
true innovations in the arts of writing.
* We will re-consider the position of the reader in relation to the
author. The hypertext can endow the reader as the author's partner
in creating the text -- or it can manipulate the reader as no
previous form of writing could.
* We will always aim for true innovation, not a mere digital
re-working of already-extant technique. (And yet, they still say
there are only eight plots. . .)
* We will seek to define hyperauthoring as a new art and to develop
new stylistic conventions to aid in its understanding.
* As we define, so shall we strive not to constrain.
* Hypertext is still a little-known technology in the neophobic,
non-wired world. We will enjoy the cutting edge while we have it.
. .
_________________________________________________________________
I am of course interested in any thoughts or comments. I hope no one
thinks the .html marking are too pretentious, but since you're reading
this think in a linear format, I figured it would at least be nice to
have some visual reminder of what's being written about.
I hope to have a fully-hypered version of this available soon on my
hypertext server. . . I'll post the URL as soon as it's available.
_________________________________________________________________
Jack Graham jacker@daneel.acns.nwu.edu