This week we were assigned to examine 2-3 versions of Taroko Gorge originally created by Nick Monfort. This piece of electronic literature has been modified by many authors and is a continuous, ever changing work. The original author, Nick Monfort developed this piece using the programming language Python which is now available in JavaScript. This programming language creates a dynamic, digital space of interactivity. It was interesting to experience several different versions and to see how the authors remixed the work. Upon inspecting the source codes, I discovered that each author used Monfort’s original code, but input their own set of words into a word bank that are programmed to randomize while viewing the page. This creates a new version of the poem each time you open a new browser so you never experience the same version twice. One of the contributing authors, Scott Rettberg, described Monfort’s original poem as a “classic and elegant nature poem” that he chose to remix entirely. Rettberg titled his remix, Tokyo Garage which I think suits it well. He describes his version as modern and urban which is a complete contrast from Monfort’s. One of the other versions that I found quite entertaining was the version written by Talan Memmott titled Toy Garbage. The phrases that were generated were quite amusing. Their use of words like Easy-Bake Oven, Furby, and Cabbage Patch Kid instantly took me back to my ever so glamorous childhood of the early Nineties. As a reader, the combinatory nature of the writing created this exciting experience. It was interesting to read each newly generated phrase as it appeared on the screen and try to sort out or piece together the meaning and author’s intent.

Entry #1

On this weeks entry I have encountered very interesting work named “Taroko Gorge” made by Nick Montfort and, with the help of such software like JavaScript, CSS and HTML, he was able to put together a very intriguing poem that displays keywords. I found this piece of work to be very interesting because other writers where able to pick up the same type of story-telling and make it their own just by changing a few words.

Another variation of this type of poem I read was “Taroko Gary” by Leonardo Flores. It was structured just like Montfort’s Taroko Gorge but the background really spoke to me. I felt like I was being taken on a quest to just observe the rainforest and the mountains. It reminded me of when I was a kid, going camping, and I would just love to go out and explore the landscape with phrases such as

“Rain coasting the creek.”

“Creek Stand.”

The technology behind this is really fascinating because the format of making poems like this one and “Taroko Gorge” is it looks like you put different variations of words in a div and you can see that the words get randomized to try and make very compelling poems and can really make you think about what sort of content that you can produce by knowing this sort of language.

Sources:

https://nickm.com/taroko_gorge/

http://academic.uprm.edu/flores/TarokoGary.html

Nick Monfort’s poem, Taroko Gorge is a reproductive poem about the Taroko Gorge National Park. The words scroll down infinitely, originating from a simple nature poem. On the surface, it is a countrified description of boundless landscapes in a variety of variations and length, yet confined like a river’s gorge by its short sentences.

The poem’s simplicity is reflected in its JavaScript code that is less than one thousand words. Each line of the poem that is generated from a small collection of adjectives. Another thing I noticed when researching this poem is that Nick Montfort allows the modification of his poetry generator by users or readers, provided the users give an original copyright notification.

Scott Rettberg’s Electronic Literature reflects on new forms and types of writing that manipulate the abilities of computers and networks such as works that would not be possible without the modern digital framework. Electronic Literature by Scott Rettberg is a vital book for students and researchers studying literary concepts.

Rettberg puts the most significant categories of E-literature in a cultural, technological, and historical context. Some of the categories in this book talk about digital, hypertext, and interactive fiction. Rettberg argues that E-literature needs to be read through the view of the specifics of the technology used to produce the work. This book offers a fundamental introduction to a vast field that both reacts to innovative literature and traditions of art that generate various new forms of stories and poetry that are specific to the modern era.

January 16

Entry 1

This week, I encountered an intriguing work called Taroko Gorge by Nick Montfort. Utilizing JavaScript, HTML and CSS, the author was able to create a generative poem that displays random keywords in a poem-like structure. Inspired by his trip to Taroko Gorge, Montfort uses keywords such as relax, dream, mist, cavern, vein, stone, forest, crag, and other terms related to nature and calm emotions. The work stands out to me because it has passed through many writer’s hands overtime. There are numerous variations of this work—all a writer needs to do is swap out the keywords for their own.

One variation I found was Pigeon Forge “Action Packed” by Zach Whalen. Though it was structured like Taroko Gorge (a stanza of four lines followed by a single line), the interface was almost reminiscent of a postcard, and I was reminded of road trips across the northwest. The keywords also reinforced this idea, which included asphalt, drive, moccasins and trail. The source code of this work is largely the same as Montfort’s, except that it utilizes different keywords to present a different theme to the reader. Toy Garbage is another variation, and reminds one of a children’s room. The background looks like the wall of a nursery, and keywords such as slinky, crawl, and play with are used.

As a reader of these renditions, I discovered the same effects across the combinatory readings. As more of the text was presented to me, I attributed meaning to those words and their connections with each other. They presented me with unique ideas that I had never considered before. As a result, I would argue that combinatory writing can produce inventive concepts that readers and authors may have otherwise never conceived of. As postmodernist author William Burroughs once wrote:

“The best writing seems to be done almost by accident… you cannot will spontaneity, but you can introduce the unpredictable spontaneous factor with a pair of scissors.” (Burroughs qtd. in Rettberg 2019, p. 26)

Though in this case, instead of using scissors to cut words from newspapers we would be utilizing computers as the “unpredictable spontaneous factor” that generates texts. Despite the author’s influence in the process (e.g. selecting keywords for the machine), what happens afterwards is completely left to chance. Though some may argue that random generators cannot create great works of literature (and indeed, even computers today can’t produce anything that comes close), I believe that it gives authors the potential to write something great for readers to experience. Oftentimes, an author’s best ideas come from the least expected sources of inspiration, enabling them to create memorable and strikingly original concepts. It is very possible that I will be applying random text generators to my final project, as the coding does not seem overly complicated and the results can be quite intriguing.

Sources:

Taroko Gorge: https://nickm.com/taroko_gorge/

Pigeon Forge “Action Packed”: http://collection.eliterature.org/3/works/pigeon-forge/pigeon-forge.html

Toy Garbage: http://collection.eliterature.org/3/works/toy-garbage/toy-garbage.html

Electronic Literature by Scott Rettberg

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