Hypertext Fiction- Hannah S

 Hypertext began to gain interest in the 80s and 90s after writers began to expand the genre as the internet became more popular. Hypertext is a link between literature and technology that was, and still is, expanding. Hypertext allows the reader to take a more front seat position in the experience of the text. While the Author wrote the text, it is up to the reader how they interact with the text and the order that they come across it. This allows a shift away from linear writing and into fragments or multi threaded pieces of text. The text mentions that this is more similar to the human conciseness. Instead of thinking in a linear way, people will often bounce between memories, future predictions and current experience. Hypertext fiction that allows the reader to bounce around to fragments closely mimics the human mind unlike linear fiction. I also found it interesting when the text mentioned a text made into a möbius strip to create an unending and looping story. I never really thought of a story being made in this sense, either real or in theory. Hypertext also shifts away from the bounds of writing and lean more towards technology within structure, organizing, and how information is presented. 

https://collection.eliterature.org/1/works/jackson__my_body_a_wunderkammer.html 

I explored Shelly Jackson's "My body a wunderkammer" This was talked about in the text but I wanted to explore it more. I have read some fragments of this in the past but I was curious to see parts that I had missed and if my experience with it would change with time. This piece of hypertext is semi autobiographical and explores the relationship between the author and her body throughout her life. The main page shows an illustration of a female body and the reader can click into highlighted body parts. Within the texts about the body parts, there are links to other stories within that can't be reached through the body parts on the main page. There are also links to other body parts. For example, the eye is connected to the nose. It is interesting, and personal, to explore another persons relationship with their body and how they view themselves. 

Comments

  1. Dr. MFebruary 12, 2023 at 5:12 PM

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  2. Dr. MFebruary 12, 2023 at 5:14 PM

    This is what Vannevar Bush was writing about in "As We May Think" and the crux of the discussion of whether we influenced the internet (or replicated the way our brains/thoughts make connections) or if it has influenced us, changing the way we read and think. The more I learned about postmodern literature and psychology, the more I saw that fragmented and nonlinear hypertexts came about naturally. My Body a Wunderkammer is a great example of how we make these connections.

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  3. Cameron WhitneyFebruary 13, 2023 at 11:51 AM

    I find it extremely cool and interesting that you chose something you had previously read parts of to see if your experience would be changed with time. I'm really hoping we get to discuss this more in depth in class because it sounds really lovely. The idea of exploring someone else's perception of their own body is very unique and fascinating. This is something I'm definitely interested in checking out on my own as well!

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