indexes as hypertext
TRANSCRIPT
Indexes as Hypertext
Tesserae to tablets... ...uncovering the future5 September 2014
Simon [email protected]@sprowberry
“the sense of ‘hyper-’ [in hypertext]
connotes extension and
generality”
Literary Hypertext
Hypertext needs structure
Indexes can provide this!
“In one sense the index defines other books that could be constructed from the materials at hand, other themes that the author could have formed into an analytical narrative, and so invites the reader to read the book in alternative ways. An index transforms a book from a tree into a network, offering multiplicity in place of a single order of paragraphs and pages” (Jay David Bolter)
Indexing & Power
Vladimir Nabokov, Pale Fire(1962)• A poet & a madman in two
realities: New Wye & Zembla• Parody of a scholarly edition or
detective fiction?• Hypertext structure
Dramatis Personæ:John ShadeCharles KinboteJakob Gradus
71
247
894
Where does Pale Fire end?
OR
А [a]Б [b]В [v]Г [g]Д [d]Е [e]Ё [yo]Ж [zh]З [z] ZEMBLAИ [i]Й [j]К [k]Л [l]М [m]Н [n]О [o]П [p]
Р [r]С [s]Т [t]У [u]Ф [f]Х [h]Ц [cz]Ч [ch]Ш [sh]Щ [shh]Ъ [“]Ы [y’]Ь [‘]Э [e’]Ю [yu]Я [ya] ORBICLE OF JASP
• Line 558: “Terra the Fair, an orbicle of jasp”
• Note: “The loveliest couplet in this canto”
• Only behind: cell and box• Other choices: Yaruga,
Yaroslavskiy, Janus, iamb, linguist, apple, buttocks
Mark Danielewski, House of Leaves (2000)• A house much bigger on the
inside• A scholarly text with two
protagonists –Typographically ambitious
Dramatis Personæ:Will NavidsonZampanòJohnny Truant
iv-v
vii
319
376
379
Ed.• NOT IN INDEX:
134, 550-552, 586, 646-645, 650-656,
• ED. FOR EDITOR:11, 16-17, 34, 46, 71, 86, 88, 100, 115, 122-123, 126, 136, 152, 165, 596, 301, 305, 320, 331-332, 378, 381, 413, 480
Steven Hall, The Raw Shark Texts (2007)• Like Jaws, but with words
• Conceptual sharks• Plays with the material page• Unchapters and negative space
Dramatis Personæ:Eric SandersonScoutDr FidorusMycroft Ward
33
64
158
247
267
Subversive Indexing
PF: Shade, Sybil, S’s wife, passim.RST: Code, Rule of four, █
Aames, Clio, (Gold Index only)
HoL: collagen . . . DNE [Does Not Exist]
Subversive Indexing in RST
Gold Index only:Clio Aames; The First Eric Sanderson; The Second Eric Sanderson; ScoutRedacted:Rule of Four Code; Ludovician<Metavician; Mycroft Ward
Does Not Exist in HoL• Aggressor• Arterial• Ballerina• Bandage• Buckles• Bundle• Buttress• Canine• Capricious• Cartouche• Claps• Collagen
• Collector• Condemn• Confuse• Copacetic• Crab• Custodian• Dazzle• Defenstration• Dégueulasse• Denounce• Denunciation• Detritus
• Diner• Disclose• Discombobula
ting• Disintegrate• Dispossess• Dolphin• Domus(black)• Donkey• Eject
etc
All three tactics encourage the user to search through the text.
Feral Indexing?
Indexes and Bookishness
Reconfigure the Index
Indexes as Hypertext
Tesserae to tablets... ...uncovering the future5 September 2014
Simon [email protected]@sprowberry