Wednesday, March 18, 2009

The Changing Face of Literature

What do you think about this?
How does it change how we think about telling stories, writing/composing, and studying literature? Will the novel be rejuvenated by making it more interactive? Can this open a new audience to the classics? Is this the next step after the graphic novel?

2 comments:

Rae said...

I think this is interesting but, like some pieces of modern art (that i saw in NY!!!), it is not a real book, just like a plain canvas is not really art. we had a huge discussion about what makes art while we were in new york and i could have basically the same conversation about these strange online books. i think having an INTERACTIVE book is more like having a very, very informal story being kiddishly written online in an email to your friends. like a two second thing that is not really a story but something you just made up fast. not a lot of work, and something you were not even able to get published? and a new audience to the classics? i mean, if people want to read the classics why cant they read them? this may spread the word but taht does not open up a new audience, just shows people the possibilities of reading a book in a different way. it is the same words that shakespeare wrote a zillion years ago but now we have it online and people have better access. this doesnt mean that 5 year olds will discover some author sooner, just that teenagers who will maybe read this anyways may find it online. and the graphic novel. sigh. i actually read part of that one you linked to and i have to say. its nothing new. a different way of drawing cartoons, nothing more. a different way of painting people, nothing more. interesting? yes. a cool idea? yes. something that will evolve into something amazing. like picasso moving into things like cubism or whatever? no. definately not. this is simply a small change after online books have already been created.

scmorgan said...

Jennifer, I finally had a chance to go look at the site. Wow. I'm floored. This is so much more than the graphic novel concept, yet it makes perfect sense. I did have trouble following some of them at first. This new medium will take time (at least for some of us) to learn to manipulate.