Those who have recently started developing electronic literature are welcomed to apply to have work in the Gallery of E-Literature First Encounters. Feb 15 is the deadline; the gallery will be at the “Hold the Light” conference, ELO 2014, in Milwaukee.
A Riddle
Consider it not in French, but Italian.
There are obsession-inducing transmissions, audio transmissions.
The ending is ugly … overall and in one language, at least.
But the story is a poet’s story – it begins with _O_ and ends with _O_.
“Description,” My 2014 New Year’s Poem
“Description,” my 2014 New Year’s poem, was sent out as a text file at the end of 2013; it’s now online in a solvable and checkable form, in a new Web edition.
From Finnegans Wake as Read by Samuel L. Jackson
_Now by a commodious vicus of recirculation – go the fuck to sleep._
Curious Conflations of Performance and Writing
In Nashville, Husky Jackal Theater has presented Terminator the Second, which enacts the story of Terminator 2 with a text composed entirely of lines from Shakepeare’s plays. Video is available.
Also, I have been watching a certain TV show set during the Korean War with a certain fan fiction author, and I believe the guys making passes at guys, wearing dresses, mugging with guys, etc. have suggested a new possible genre of writing that would have to be called S\*L\*A\*S\*H.
Upcoming Events at USC, UCLA, MIT, NYU
The Trope Tank has a good deal going on in the next month, as classes at MIT begin. If you’re in LA, the Boston Area, or New York at the right times, please join us…
– January 16 in Los Angeles at USC, my talk “Computational Poetic Models,” SCA Complex, SCI Room 108, 11am
– January 17 in Los Angeles at UCLA, my talk “Ten Cases of Computational Poetics,” M/ELT, YRL Hub, 12pm
– January 21 in Cambridge at MIT, Dr. Piotr Marecki’s talk “Polish Literature in the Digital Age,” 6pm, The Trope Tank
– January 29 in Cambridge at MIT, Commodore 64 BASIC Workshop, The Trope Tank, 2pm-5pm; the workshop is full but we will try to accommodate spectators when we run/screen the results around 4:30pm
– February 13 in New York at NYU, my talk “Poetic Computing,” 239 Greene St Floor 8, 6pm
C64 BASIC Workshop at MIT, January 29, 2-5pm
I am moved by the holiday spirit of MIT’s Independent Activities Period (IAP) to announce a Commodore 64 BASIC programming workshop using original hardware.
[Update: The workshop is now fully subscribed, but I will try to arrange for spectators who would like to join us around 4:30pm to see the results of our work.]
Beginning at 2pm on Wednesday January 29, we will spend about two and half hours working on short BASIC programs. Collaboration will be strongly encouraged; there will be one Commodore 64 provided for each pair of programmers. (If you negotiate with your partner, you may write something individually, however.) It is fine to proceed by modifying programs, and some will be provided for this exact purpose. Programs need not be interactive, but can be. Visual and textual effects will be our focus, but programmers are welcome to work with sound, to develop simple games, or even (gasp!) to write a program that does something useful.
No programming experience (in BASIC, on the Commodore 64, or otherwise) is required. Those who are new to programming can be paired with experienced programmers, if this is suitable to both people. Also, the essentials of BASIC on the Commodore 64 will be described during the workshop. Finally, new programmers can do very interesting work by modifying programs, changing data and parameters and then getting into changing and adding code.
At about 4:30pm we will have a presentation, screening, showcase, or compos of sorts for Commodore 64 BASIC programs in the following three categories:
– One-liner
– (max) 10-line program
– (max) 25-line program
After this workshop, the code developed will be presented and shared on the Web, where it can be run in emulation or by people who have Commodore 64s.
The workshop will take place in my lab at MIT, The Trope Tank, room 14N-233. The site for the lab includes directions for getting there.
The time for the workshop, again, is:
January 29 (Wednesday)
2pm-5pm
I can accommodate 8-10 people, programming in pairs. Reserve a place by sending me an email. Because space is limited, please promise to come to the workshop if you write to reserve a space.