orality

This article considers the intersection between African oral tradition and electronic literature by exploring the potential of Sankofa to interact with concrete poetry in an electronic space. Sankofa is an example of the Adinkra, a set of symbols that were originally created and used by the Akan in West Africa. These symbols have literary value which this article looks at in ways similar to concrete poetry; examining Sankofa as concrete poetry in an electronic context enables a simultaneous dovetailing with as well as convergence from oral and print based modes of engaging with the text: aspects of oral tradition influence this exploration.

Sankofa unlike most other Adinkra symbols has two variations as well as a strong connection to an oral folktale. Other elements of orality such as performance and narrative combine with these features to allow for an analysis of Sankofa through the lens of concrete poetry, both in terms of its Adinkra variation and its folktale rendition. In reverse, the unique implications of this analysis extend the visual-heavy features of concrete poetry due to the ways in which Sankofa impacts conventional understandings of orality, aurality, and the visual in concrete poetry.

Moving from writing to amateur video could not have happened without the easily available technology and the web and social media that enable the author to circulate their work without needing a heavy infrastructure. In this sense, and with the underlying open attitude to the concept of the literary and modes of publication, this new ‘vliterature’ is fundamentally governed by the logic of the internet. At the same time, in addition to being inspired by filmmakers’ diaries and experimental short film, it can also be seen as a return to an older form of literature, the tradition of orality. This paper proposes to discuss the context in which this trend has emerged and the various practices it has engendered, with a focus on the modes of presence of what can be considered to be ‘literary’ practices and artefacts in such ‘writerly videos’ or vliterature. François Bon’s reflections on the place of the videos in his work and their relation to literature, set in the broader context of the evolution of his literature from Minuit novels to blogs and print-on-demand self-publishing, will provide the main thread for thinking through the reasons and implications from the author’s perspective and imagining it further as a potential future form in the life of literature.

(Source: Abstract ICDMT 2016)

Pedro Barbosa recalls in this interview his memories of the first studies and works of electronic literature back in the 1970s when he was a student at the University of Porto. Starting from considerations about his collaborative works he makes a comparison between printed literature tradition and the age of new media focusing on the paradigmatic change of this very transitional period with live in and the differences of the creative work. Furthermore he makes an interesting statement on regard of the aesthetics of new media by comparing works of electronic literature with the oral tradition. In the end he mentions some of the milestones of electronic literature that he considers important.

This paper is concerned with the adaptation of Sámi narratives to new media. Sámi literature has proved its power of adjustment in the past, and the emergence of new forms of literature and texts in different shapes and genres that we witness today, indicates that this strength has not faded. Sámi literature finds its roots and inspiration in oral tradition. The first Sámi writers were storytellers who established a transition from oral to written literature. Recently, examples of adaptation to audio-visual genres and Internet have multiplied, motivated by the contemporary sociopolitical context for minorities and minority languages in Sweden. From a historical perspective, Sámi literature has undergone an adaptation from an oral to a written medium. Today, the spoken word, sound and visual effects meet again in new media. The transition from a narrative told orally as a performance to an audiovisual medium entails an adaptation not only to a new medium, but also to a new audience, and a new context. In this paper, I investigate how Sámi literature and folklore emerge in new media, more specifically television and Internet. The main focus lies on the implications of the adaptation for the literary genres as well as for the Sámi tradition in terms of authenticity and markers of identity. Taking as a point of departure that innovation does not exclude preservation, the analysis of audiovisual genres underscores how Sámi narratives have been preserved and modified.

Reflections and predictions of technology's effect on reading and writing In this study, Christian Vandendorpe examines how digital media and the Internet have changed the process of reading and writing, significantly altering our approaches toward research and reading, our assumptions about audience and response, and our theories of memory, legibility, and context. Reflecting on the full history of the written word, Vandendorpe provides a clear overview of how materiality makes a difference in the creation and interpretation of texts. Surveying the conventions of reading and writing that have appeared and disappeared in the Internet's wake, Vandendorpe considers various forms of organization, textual design, the use (and distrust) of illustrations, and styles of reference and annotation. He also examines the novel components of digital texts, including hyperlinks and emoticons, and looks at emergent, collaborative genres such as blogs and wikis, which blur the distinction between author and reader. Looking to the future, reading and writing will continue to evolve based on the current, contested trends of universal digitization and accessibility. (Source: University of Illinois Press.)