Dissertation Final
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ABSTRACT Title of Document: TYPING THE DANCING SIGNIFIER: JIM ANDREWS’ (VIS)POETICS Leonardo Flores, PhD, 2010 Directed By: Prof. Matthew Kirschenbaum, English Department Prof. Martha Nell Smith, English Department This study focuses on the work of Jim Andrews, whose electronic poems take advantage of a variety of media, authoring programs, programming languages, and file formats to create poetic experiences worthy of study. Much can be learned about electronic textuality and poetry by following the trajectory of a poet and programmer whose fascination with language in programmable media leads him to distinctive poetic explorations and collaborations. This study offers a detailed exploration of Andrews’ poetry, motivations, inspirations, and poetics, while telling a piece of the story of the rise of electronic poetry from the mid 1980s until the present. Electronic poetry can be defined as first generation electronic objects that can only be read with a computer—they cannot be printed out nor read aloud without negating that which makes them “native” to the digital environment in which they were created, exist, and are experienced in. If translated to different media, they would lose the extra-textual elements that I describe in this study as behavior. These “behaviors” electronic texts exhibit are programmed instructions that cause the text to be still, move, react to user input, change, act on a schedule, or include a sound component. The conversation between the growing capabilities of computers and networks and Andrews’ poetry is the most extensive part of the study, examining three areas in which he develops his poetry: visual poetry (from static to kinetic), sound poetry (from static to responsive), and code poetry (from objects to applications). In addition to being a literary biography, the close readings of Andrews’ poems are media- specific analyses that demonstrate how the software and programming languages used shape the creative and production performances in significant ways. This study makes available new materials for those interested in the textual materiality of Andrews’ videogame poem, Arteroids , by publishing the Arteroids Development Folder—a collection of source files, drafts, and old versions of the poem. This collection is of great value to those who wish to inform readings of the work, study the source code and its programming architecture, and even produce a critical edition of the work. TYPING THE DANCING SIGNIFIER: JIM ANDREWS’ (VIS)POETICS By Leonardo L. Flores Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2010 Advisory Committee: Professor Matthew Kirschenbaum, Co-Chair Professor Martha Nell Smith, Co-Chair Professor Regina Harrison Professor Marilee Lindeman Professor Katie King © Copyright by Leonardo L. Flores 2010 Dedication I dedicate this dissertation to all who have been so generous in lending me their unconditional support throughout this long process: • To my family: my beautiful wife Kara, my lovely children Olivia and Blake, my patient mother Nelsie, and the rest of my dear family I’ve been distant or absent from while focused on this project. • To my father, Leonardo Flores Flores, who chose us over completing his Ph.D. • To Jim Andrews, whose poetry, openness, and willingness to help have been a true inspiration. • To my co-chairs, Matt and Martha, who have guided me and helped me elevate my work through their example and advice. • To my friends, who have given me the space to work and been available when needed. • To Tony and Susan Hunt, my mentors and friends whose example sent me on this academic path. • To my colleagues and friends in the University of Puerto Rico: Mayagüez Campus, for granting me release time to pursue my doctoral studies and for being patient and considerate with my degree completion. ii Table of Contents Dedication ..................................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ......................................................................................................... iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures .............................................................................................................. vi Chapter 1: Introducing the Dancing Signifier ............................................................... 1 What is E-Poetry? ..................................................................................................... 5 E-Poetry and the Computer ................................................................................... 8 What is so different or new about electronic poetry? ......................................... 11 The Nature of the Electronic Text .......................................................................... 19 Code and Behavior .............................................................................................. 24 The Case-Study ....................................................................................................... 28 Mapping the Study .................................................................................................. 32 Chapter 2: Typing the Dancing Signifier .................................................................... 34 Print and Electronic Textuality ............................................................................... 39 Defining Boundaries ........................................................................................... 42 Production and Reception Performances ............................................................ 48 From Creative to Reception Performances: A Holistic Look ............................. 52 Material and Emergent Texts .............................................................................. 57 The Cyborg Reader ................................................................................................. 67 Reading Textual Behaviors ..................................................................................... 71 Static Texts.......................................................................................................... 78 Scheduled Texts .................................................................................................. 82 Kinetic Texts ....................................................................................................... 84 Responsive Texts ................................................................................................ 90 Mutable Texts ..................................................................................................... 95 Aural Texts.......................................................................................................... 98 Onwards ................................................................................................................ 103 Chapter 3: Jim Andrews’ (Vis)Poetics ..................................................................... 104 Poet and Programmer ............................................................................................ 107 Theoretical Influences and Inspirations ............................................................ 117 Poetic Influences and Inspiration ...................................................................... 120 Technological Influences and Inspirations ....................................................... 127 The Electric Pen .................................................................................................... 137 DHTML Dances.................................................................................................... 158 A Meaningful Enigma....................................................................................... 164 Drifting from the Scene .................................................................................... 172 Cut Up, Heat, Stir.............................................................................................. 184 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 205 Visual Music ......................................................................................................... 207 iii Other Works .......................................................................................................... 244 Chapter 4: Mining the Arteroids ............................................................................... 255 WebArteroids: Preparation and Conceptualization .............................................. 276 The Arteroids Archive and its Challenges ............................................................ 286 Appendices ................................................................................................................ 290 Appendix A: Versions of Arteroids in the Arteroids Development Folder .......... 290 Appendix B: The Texts of Arteroids .................................................................... 292 Canto 1 Texts .................................................................................................... 292 Canto 2 Texts .................................................................................................... 294 Game Mode Winning Notices .........................................................................