“Voies de fait” by Jean-Marie Dutey exploits the reader’s sensation of a lack of control to sent a strong political message. The reader has a physical and direct role in the poem. Like in a video game, the reader moves about the poem using the arrow keys on his or her keyboard. The reader’s avatar runs between or on the stanzas, which are arranged in blocks. At first it seems as though the stanzas continue infinitely. There is only one blue stanza—the rest are grey—to provide some sort of starting point. There are a total of five columns and five rows of stanzas. The stanzas repeat themselves in every direction so that if the reader’s avatar begins at the blue stanza and heads to the right, the reader will see the four stanzas that follow, and then again the blue stanza with once again the following stanzas. Here is the complete text (beginning with the blue stanza): VIVRE HEROS C’EST GRAND ARMEE OBEIR TIEDE IDIOT FRERE VERTE A CET QUE L‘ JE NE IBM QUE L’ ORDRE ENFER BANDE FERME ECHEC ENFIN CACHE PLUS ! L’ŒIL GAGNE C’EST CIVIL CRANE HEIGE BOIRE GRAVE CIBLE FENDU BLEUE L’AIR QUAND OTAGE PAR L’ SUR L’ QUAND TU ES D’UNE ACIER ECRAN L’EAU MORT ? HEURE TORDU VIDEO BAULE TIERS NOTRE COMME AOBOT VILLE MONDE PASSE SI LE TUEUR PUNIE QUE L’ ETAIT FUTUR QUE L’ RAYEE ISLAM AUSSI ETAIT OMBRE DE LA ROULE AGITE BANNI GRISE CARTE FLASH ATOME AUCUN ECLAT BETON BLANC EVADE AUTRE BOUGE VOIBRE TU AS DE L’ APPEL BOMBE GEODE MOINS OGIVE DE LA RAYON ATI- FROID POLIE TERRE LASER FUSEE MAMAN HOMME PLUIE MACHII SALUE MAMAN SANG- NOIRE L’AIR MAUVE OU TU FROID JAPON RUGIT QUE L’ ES ? ET CHAIR AVANT ET SE AVION PAPA ? ROTIE APRES BRISE LANCE The text can be read in multiple directions because there is no temporal reading, rather a spatial reading. Each stanza paints a strong image but is independent of the others around it to complete this image. The ensemble of images created by the stanzas tells the story of the Japanese bombings during WWII. The narrator sides evidently with the civilian victims who lost their lives due to a war in which they played no part. The title refers to the legal term “assault” or, more specifically, the illegal executive action taken by a governing body. The structure of the poem creates a link between the victims who could not escape and the reader who is lost amidst these lines.
French electronic poetry
« Voies de fait » de Jean-Marie Dutey se sert de la sensation de déprise chez le lecteur pour exprimer un fort message politique. Le lecteur a un rôle physique et direct dans le poème. Comme dans les jeux vidéos le lecteur se déplace à travers le poème avec les flèches directionnelle sur le clavier. L’avatar qui représente le lecteur court entre ou sur les strophes, qui sont arrangées en bloques. Au début il semble que les strophes continuent jusqu’à l’infini. Il n’y a qu’une strophe en bleu—les autres sont en gris—pour donner des indices. Il y a cinq colonnes et cinq rangs de strophes. À chaque direction elles se répètent, alors si on commence à la strophe bleue et qu’on part vers la droite, on verra quatre strophes de plus et puis encore la strophe bleue avec les strophes suivantes. Voilà le texte complet (en commençant avec la strophe bleue) : VIVRE HEROS C’EST GRAND ARMEE OBEIR TIEDE IDIOT FRERE VERTE A CET QUE L‘ JE NE IBM QUE L’ ORDRE ENFER BANDE FERME ECHEC ENFIN CACHE PLUS ! L’ŒIL GAGNE C’EST CIVIL CRANE HEIGE BOIRE GRAVE CIBLE FENDU BLEUE L’AIR QUAND OTAGE PAR L’ SUR L’ QUAND TU ES D’UNE ACIER ECRAN L’EAU MORT ? HEURE TORDU VIDEO BAULE TIERS NOTRE COMME AOBOT VILLE MONDE PASSE SI LE TUEUR PUNIE QUE L’ ETAIT FUTUR QUE L’ RAYEE ISLAM AUSSI ETAIT OMBRE DE LA ROULE AGITE BANNI GRISE CARTE FLASH ATOME AUCUN ECLAT BETON BLANC EVADE AUTRE BOUGE VOIBRE TU AS DE L’ APPEL BOMBE GEODE MOINS OGIVE DE LA RAYON ATI- FROID POLIE TERRE LASER FUSEE MAMAN HOMME PLUIE MACHII SALUE MAMAN SANG- NOIRE L’AIR MAUVE OU TU FROID JAPON RUGIT QUE L’ ES ? ET CHAIR AVANT ET SE AVION PAPA ? ROTIE APRES BRISE LANCE Le texte peut être lu de plusieurs façons, parce que la lecture n’est pas une lecture temporelle, plutôt une lecture spatiale. Chaque strophe peint une image forte mais ne dépend pas des autres autour d’elle pour compléter l’image. L’ensemble des images conte l’histoire du bombardement japonais pendant la deuxième guerre mondiale. Le narrateur se rallie évidemment avec les victimes civiles qui ont perdu leurs vies à cause d’une guerre dont elles ne faisaient parties. Le titre fait référence à un terme légal qui signifie un acte de force exécutive illégal de la part d’un gouvernement. La structure du poème fait un rapport entre les victimes qui ne pouvaient pas s’échapper et le lecteur qui est perdu au milieu de ces vers.
In this paper, Philippe Bootz retraces the history and affiliations of electronic poetry in France, emphasizing its tendencies and significant role in the diffusion of "animated poetry." The author focuses on the vanguard of the L.A.I.R.E. group and the magazine Alire, which he and Tibor Papp founded in 1988 and 1989, respectively. This poet and researcher considers that electronic literature also has its own story. This story is an object of debate and positioning within a field of knowledge, particularly French.
(Source: Author's Abstract)
Neste texto, Philippe Bootz apresenta uma síntese da história e filiações da poesia eletrônica na França, enfatizando as tendências e o significativo papel da "poesia animada". O autor se concentra na vanguarda do grupo L.A.I.R.E. e da revista Alire, ambos fundados por ele e Tibor Papp em 1988 e 1989, respectivamente. Ainda para esse poeta e pesquisador, a literatura eletrônica também tem uma história própria. Essa história é um objeto de debate e posicionamento dentro de um campo de conhecimento, particularmente francês.
(Fonte: Resumo do Autor)
This work develops a theoretical model of the communication which is established in e-poetry between an author and a reader by use of two computers. One is used to create the work and the other to read it. The files are transmitted with a CDROM.
We make first a diachronic study of the field. It shows that conceptions gradually evolve. The study of visual forms shows that the mind representation of the system made by the actors are important in this communication.
The model of linked text is purposed. The concept of text depends upon the global representation of the situation for each actor. This model is developed in cognitive and semiotic approaches. The notions of texte-à-voir, texte-écrit and texte-lu are introduced.
The study continues with an analyse of the differences in the running of a program in divers contexts. The communication is understood as the transformation of a running process into another. This is the procedural conception. It is developed in a systemic approach in three models : a psychological model, a functional model of the situation of communication, a global system for the contextual relationship. The principal model of the situation let a particular function, the generation, appear. It inserts between reading and writing. These models permit to explain the properties of the system. They give a frame in which the conceptions of actors can be treated. Graphical transform are used to do this.