Before reading this article and having a bit more context as to the world of electronic literature, I never considered how navigation impacts our experience. After reading this, I feel like the idea that having a variety of ways to digest someone’s electronic literature is so special and different. I think people sometimes struggle with reading printed text because it may be “boring” or they have a hard time caring but when the literature is interactive, people may be more inclined to participate. I appreciated that Pressman included the critiques of e-lit navigation. Opinions in my perspective are always subject to change but I reject the claim that “the authors of hypertexts program all possible paths through which readers can navigate and thus invite only “trivial” rather than productive (or “ergodic”) action from the reader”. I think any interaction with the work is productive because the very fact that people are interacting with it. Having different approaches to a piece e-literature keeps it fresh and interesting that it could be experienced different ways. The one that really stood out to me was the last one. I tried clicking the link to it but it was a dead-end. Overall this article provoked a lot of thoughts and questions in me around what we consider literature.
I was glad I read the Pressman article on navigating electronic literature before experiencing “Twelve Blue” by Michael Joyce. I was optimistic going into it. I liked the idea of kind of “choosing my fate” when it came to the story line. A “choose your own adventure” if you will. I felt as though I chose my own insanity. I started off reading about a fifteen year old girl flirting with a carny, then about a family of three where the parents weren’t married anymore, then a side quest story of said father and daughter being in the Blue Ridge Mountains to find a photo of her great-grandmother, then a story about a woman named Delores Peters came into play and lost me. I got out of context pieces about a boy drowning that confused me as well. I was getting repeat sections as I tapped through the hyperlinks and threads on the side of the screen. I can honestly say, I had no idea what was happening 80% of the time as I tapped through this story. The storyline I stayed with most was with Javier, Beth/Tevet, Aurelie, and Lisle(Lee). I didn’t even realize there were section titles until the very end of my hour. I loved the language Joyce wrote with it was challenging yet fit the bill for the way the piece works as far as choosing your own adventure and the storylines it follows. I said above while reading the Pressman article that I thought the idea of letting readers choose how the story goes was a fun/fresh idea but after experiencing “Twelve Blue”, I think it’s fair to say that I am someone who likes order and direction.
