Davin Heckman’s RetroTechnics

If you caught my poster session at the MLA and want to know more about the project, here are some important links to enjoy:

epoetica <http://www.hyperrhiz.net/symposium/>

[This is the online poetry symposium which I presented at the conference.  In general, I feel like the project was a mixed bag, successful and unsuccessful in some surprising ways.  Overall, it was a worthwhile project, but future attempts will certainly require more informal communication and a greater sense of community.]

Hyperrhiz: New Media Cultures <http://www.hyperrhiz.net/>

[Helen Burgess and the rest of the gang at Hyperrhiz were gracious enough to offer us the space and technical support for running the symposium.  Visit and contribute to Hyperrhiz because they support great work.]

The Electronic Literature Organization <http://eliterature.org/>

[The ELO is the definitive professional group for those interested in electronic forms of literary expression.  I recieved Susan Schreibman’s CFP which inspired the project through the ELO’s mailing list.  And, I have met many supportive colleagues and collaborators.]

Personal Websites of Project Participants:

Jason Nelson, Craig Saper, Helen Burgess, and Zephyr Pfotehnauer. 

I’ve been working on an electronic poetry symposium over at Hyperrhiz called “Epoetica.” 

Electronic poetry is one (among many) culturally appropriate tools for
generating knowledge about the human self. Its unique character can
only be understood, obviously, through an understanding of its media
specific strengths and weaknesses. These strengths and weaknesses tend
to spin on the same axes. The most stunning unique quality circulates
around the question of technics (referring both to “technique” and
“technology,” as a particular way of responding to human life as a
series of “problems” with “solutions” that can be known, improved, and
transferred through empirical means.)

Read the rest of the article »

[This review has been revised, extended, and picked up for Hyperrhiz.03.]

I recently hosted a reading/performance by hypermedia poet and artist, Jason Nelson (Griffith University, Australia). I’ve long been an admirer of his works (most of which can be found through www.secrettechnology.com), but the reading added a new dimension to my understanding of electronic poetry.  For a while now, I have been trying to figure out if there is a critical feature of hypermedia poetry…

I am going to post a little list of things I am reading from time to time.  You can expect me to follow up with comments and entries on the following pieces:

Fredric Jameson.  Archaelogies of the Future. 

Nathaniel Hawthorne. The Blithedale Romance.

Grant Morrison.  The Invisibles.

Don Delillo.  White Noise.