Hyperizons:
Theory and Criticism of Hypertext Fiction

The essays listed here either discuss a number of works or generally discuss theory and technique. Criticism about a particular piece of fiction is listed under the citation for the work in question. While the focus is mainly on hypertext fiction, I occasionally list works on related topes of interest. In addition, for certain writers garnering a lot of attention and/or writing in a variety of genres I'm beginning to develop annotated bibliographies
  • Critical literature about hypertext fiction
  • Critical literature on related topics
  • Annotated bibliographies of individual writers

    • Critical literature about hypertext fiction

    Becker, Howard S. "A New Art Form: Hypertext Fiction"
    Becker discusses hypertext fiction in terms of his concept of "art worlds"--briefly, the network of people necessary to the successful creation, publication, distribution, marketing, and criticism of any art form. A concise presentation of an expansive idea. Recommended reading. (4/16/96)

     
    Bolter, Jay David.
    "Degrees of Freedom" (1996).
    A new essay to be part of a book in progress. Like his earlier work (see below), written in the lucid style that quietly says one mind-altering thing after another. Discusses electronic media in terms of the "hypertextual" and the "virtual," which roughly equate to Richard Lanham's dichotomy of looking at/looking through art. A new required text for anyone with more than a passing interest in this field (10/7/96).
    Writing Space: the Computer, Hypertext, and the History of Writing (Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1991)
    Chances are that if you've made it here to read these words you're already familiar with this book. If not, get familiar. Bolter, one of the co-creators of Storyspace, is perhaps overly optimistic about hypertext (his own work being a case in point--the book is wonderfully useful, but the Storyspace version is annoyingly hard to use), but no problem--the book is an excellent introduction to hypertext, placing it in the context of the history of writing and publishing. Even if you've not interested in hypertext, it's still an excellent guide to the history of the printed word (what else would you expect from a Carolina grad--Go 'Heels!). Here are a brief review by George Landow, and ordering information from Eastgate Systems ([UPDATED]7/25/97: Landow links updated).

     
    Coover, Robert.
    "The End of Books." New York Times Book Review (June 21, 1992), p.1.
    The article that introduced me (and I suspect a lot of others) to hypertext fiction. Still worth a look, especially for those just approaching the subject. Coover describes the development of the Hypertext Hotel, the use of Storyspace, and a host of things that I found intriguing, but others found kinda scary. (7/8/95)
    "Hyperfiction: Novels for the Computer," New York Times Book Review, August 29, 1993, p.1.
    This lengthier follow-up to the article cited above could be said to do for Eastgate's hyperfiction what Carolyn Guyer's "Written on the Web" does for Web-based hyperfiction: provide the best capsule reviews available in one place. It particularly focuses on Moulthrop's Victory Garden, which had just been published at the time of the article, but also has incisive comments on afternoon, "Quibbling", "The Perfect Couple", "The King of Space", "WOE", Uncle Buddy's Phantom Funhouse, and "Its Name Was Penelope." The reviews have the merit of dispensing praise where due--without hyperbole--and at the same time pointing out bad writing or just plain silliness. Accompanied by a brief article on hypermedia with the (editorially-assigned, I'd guess) title, "And Hypertext is Only the Beginning: Watch Out!", which is a little dated at this point.The main article provides a great antidote to both the mindless chatter of mainstream press responses to hypertext fiction and to some of the more overblown blurbs Eastgate tends to quote. (4/18/96)
    Deemer, Charles.
    "The Humanities in Cyberspace: How the Internet is Changing Teaching and Scholarship in the Humanities." (first published in The Oregonian, 1994).
    A review of several hyperfictions, including Victory Garden.
    "What is Hypertext?", 1994.
    Deemer discusses how he discovered hypertext and covers its history briefly, particularly focussing on Vannevar Bush's "As We May Think."

     
    Fauth, Jurgen , "Poles in Your Face: The Promises and Pitfalls of Hyperfiction." (Mississipi Review Web, September, 1995, Vol 1, No. 6)
    Fairly enough, Fauth finds most hypertext fiction currently on the World Wide Web unsatisfactory and of little artistic merit. He contends--again fairly, I think--that too much energy is expended on exploring the new toy, the hyperlink, to the detriment of traditional aspects of good fiction writing. But the title metaphor leads him astray--it refers to the brief 3-D movie fad of the 1950s and their makers' tendencies to keep thrusting objects at the viewer to show off the new effect. This, Fauth says, is like the link--i.e., hypertext is just a new feature tacked onto print prose. The analogy fails because hypertext is not a new feature of print prose, but rather an entirely new medium. While it's unfair to criticize a piece for what's not there, I think Fauth would have done better to explore another analogy the motion picture reference brings to mind: namely that the development of hypertext bears some similarities to the development of film. A better comparison to the link is the cut (or the splice, depending on how you want to think of it). Like the cut, the link is one feature of a new medium that allows juxtapositions previously difficult if not impossible--and, unlike 3-D glasses, it is an essential component of the medium, not a gimmicky afterthought. Though it is unclear just what specific hyperfictions Fauth has read, the essay is worth reading, whether to confirm doubts or provoke disagreement. (11/13/95 [UPDATED]12/1/96. Links corrected.).

     
    Guyer, Carolyn
    "Along the Estuary" (1/3/97).
    "Buzz-daze Jazz" (1/3/97).
    An essay on creativity and her hypertext fiction, "Quibbling."
    Fretwork: ReForming Me" (1/3/97).
    "Written on the Web."
    A concise, thoughtful summary of Web hypertext fiction to date (published online in FEED, September, 1995). Guyer astutely points out that much of what Web fiction seems to lack stems directly from the constraints of the tools available to writers (i.e., HTML and the various browsers). She also notes that writers often seem to know little of all the work on hypertext that took place before the Web explosion. Especially valuable is her annotated bibliography of the best of current hypertext fiction on the Web (10/6/95).

     
    Hocks, Mary, "Hypertext survey results."
    A survey of hypertext writers and readers conducted via e-mail in the fall of 1993. About hypertext writing in general, though the text and survey results tend to focus on hyperfiction. Among other comments of interest here, I noticed that there was frequent mention of Storyspace, but none of HTML (note the date). It appears to have been preparatory work for Hocks's 1994 dissertation, Technotropes of Liberation: Reading Hypertext in the Age of Theory (University of Illinois). Clarification on this point would be appreciated. Contact UMI to order the dissertation (order #9512396) (rev. 12/1/95)

     
    Hyper/Text/Theory (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1994). Ed: George P. Landow
    A valuable collection of essays by such writers as Stuart Moulthrop, J. Yellowlees Douglas, Landow, and others. See particularly Douglas's essay on reading Michael Joyce. Ordering information is available from Eastgate Systems or JHU Press.

     
    [NEW] Johnson, Jeffrey, and Maurizio Oliva. "Internet Textuality: Toward Interactive Multilinear Narrative."
    An essay on the effect of technology--specifically the Internet--on the construction of narratives that briefly discusses several Web hypertext fictions, including Douglas Cooper's Delirium, Stuart Moulthrop's "Hegirascope," Jim Clarage's "Click Me," The Confessional, No Dead Trees, and WaxWeb (4/20/97).

     
    Joyce, Michael. Of Two Minds: Hypertext Pedagogy and Poetics (U. of Mich. Press, 1995).
    This collection of essays written over the past eight years or so is a must for anyone studying hypertext fiction. See the Joyce bibliography for more information. (9/20/95)

     
    Keep, C.J., Tim McLaughlin and Robin. The Electronic Labyrinth
    A general survey of the history of hypertext; discusses some recent hypertext fiction including Afternoon and Uncle Buddy's Phantom Funhouse (available on disk from Eastgate). Originally researched in 1993, it is, as the authors seem aware, a little dated because it does not take the Web into account, but is nevertheless quite informative. Also available for downloading in the original version to be read via Windows Help. (11/30/95)

     
    Kendall, Robert. "Writing For the New Millenium: The Birth of Electronic Literature."
    Like Michael Joyce in "What I Really Wanted to Do I Thought" and Charles Deemer in "What is Hypertext?", Kendall recounts how his writing interests led him to discover hypermedia and its developing community. He then goes on to give a concise summary of current trends in hypertext writing and provides a couple of very useful lists: publishers of hypertexts and other online and multimedia literature; and current and upcoming classes on hypertext literature. ([UPDATED] 2/10/97: URL's corrected to Kendall's new home page)

     
    Landow, George P., Hypertext: The Convergence of Contemporary Critical Theory and Technology (Johns Hopkins University Press, c1992).
    Excellent but, like Bolter, prone to looking more at hypertext's pleasures than its drawbacks. A review by Nancy Lin, "Hypertext and Democracy for the Reader?", used to be available online, but has disappeared. I'd appreciate hearing from anyone who locates it. Also see David Miall's essay cited below. The Table of Contents is available, as well as ordering information from Eastgate Systems or JHU Press ([UPDATED] 7/25/97: Landow links updated).

     
    Miall, David S. "Representing and Interpreting Literature by Computer."
    While not directly about hypertext fiction, this essay discusses much of interest about hypertext and literature, particularly George Landow's writings. (12/1/96. Note: Miall's home page uses frames; following the title link avoids the frame structure)

     
    Oliva, Maurizio.
    See Johnson, Jeffrey 

     
    Paul, Christiane. "Reading/Writing Hyperfictions: The Psychodrama of Interactivity." In Leonardo, vol. 28, no. 4, August 1995, pp. 265-272.
    Well-written article arguing that hyperfiction breaks down the boundaries between reader and text and causes readers not to perceive hyperfiction as an "otherness." I happen to disagree, as my personal experience is that hyperfiction seems more "other" than print because, unlike print, it depends on a technology that has not been made almost invisible as technology by five centuries of acculturation. This is not, however, an argument against the value of the article--it's well worth the time. Discusses several Eastgate hyperfictions, particularly J. Yellowlees Douglas's "I Have Said Nothing." Abstract and ordering information available. Interesting side issue: why is an article about fiction one reads on a computer not, well, readable on a computer at Leonardo's web site? Possibly related to the $15 price tag on the print version. Paul is Editor in Chief of Intelligent Agent, to which a visit is very much in order. ([UPDATED] 2/10/97)

     
    Poster, Mark. "Postmodern Virtualities."
    A chapter of Poster's The Second Media Age (1995). Section IV discusses "Narratives in Cyberspace" in terms of Lyotard's analysis of the postmodern (10/7/96).

     
    Rees, Gareth, "Tree fiction", September, 1994.
    A useful essay discussing the possibilities and potential problems of branching fictions.

     
    Shumate, Michael
    "Tracing the Growth of a New Literature." In Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine, Volume 3, Number 12, December 1, 1996.
    A brief history of my development of the Hyperizons Web site and a review of several Web hypertext fictions that debuted in 1996. Part of CMC's special issue on "Imagination and Hypertext" (12/1/96)
    "Writing Lives: Technology, Creativity, and Hypertext Fiction."
    My masters thesis (Duke University, 1996). I'm disinclined for the moment to rephrase once again what this is about, so here's the abstract (12/1/96).

     
    Swiss, Thomas. "Music and Noise: Marketing Hypertexts." In Postmodern Culture, Volume 7, Number 1 (September, 1996).
    A review of Eastgate Systems' role(s) in the world of hypertext literature (10/7/96).

    Critical literature of interest on related topics

    Works I list here are not specifically about hypertext fiction, but essays and books about such topics as literature and technology, new media, and other nearby fields of interest. I don't actively seek these out to add to Hyperizons but find them along the way.
    Kirschenbaum, Matthew G. "Lines for a Virtual T/y/o/pography"
    Kirschenbaum's hypertextual dissertation-in-progress about "visible and visual convergence of information and aesthetics in both print and electronic medias." (12/1/96).

     
    Lanham, Richard. The Electronic Word: Democracy, Technology, and the Arts. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993.
    For some reason, this book always gets paired in my mind with Bolter's Writing Space, not least because I've seen them reviewed together at least twice. A collection of (mostly) previously published essays rather than a single work, The Electronic Word would perhaps make a better starting point than Bolter for someone just beginning to explore the ramifications of new media for the artistic and scholarly worlds. This is not to say Lanham's book is less intellectually satisfying than Bolter's but just that it has a more general approach. His discussion of looking "at" art vs. looking "through" it is particularly enlightening. Also available in an electronic edition, which I have not seen. Like Writing Space, this book is generating a lot of critical response. Here are a couple of interesting things online:
  • "A CALL FOR ELECTRONIC AND HYPER ESSAYS that in some way converse with Richard Lanham's The Electronic Word," sponsored by RhetNet, A Cyberjournal for Rhetoric and Writing.
  • An excerpt from Chapter 4.
    • (4/18/96)

    Annotated bibliographies of individual writers

  • Joyce, Michael ([UPDATED] 2/10/97)
  • Moulthrop, Stuart ([UPDATED] 2/10/97)

    • Last update: July 25, 1997
    © 1995, 1996, 1997 by Michael Shumate
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