Mis e-mails con Deena

Como he dicho en mi opinión personal, la autora Deena Larsen me parece, además de una gran escritora de hipertextos, una mujer muy accesible y agradable. A continuación tenemos los e-mails mediante los cuales yo expresaba mis puntos de vista y ella me daba su opinión e intentaba guiarme para conseguir esa segunda interpretación:

14- 5 2003

Hello, Deena.

I'm a Spanish student called Ana, and I am working on your hypertext Stained Word Window,
but I have problems about its meaning, because I do not understand the whole text
(I think it's dedicated to insects!!!) so,i would be very pleased and happy
if you give me a vision of the text and help me a little. I have discovered the world of hypertexts
this year and i am a little (or quite) lost.

Thank you very much for your time spent on reading my message.

Answer:

Hi Ana,

Welcome to the world of hypertexts! It is a fun place. I just revamped my website to explain a
bit more about my structured poems such as Stained word window. I also have a webshelf with
links to other works that you might be interested in.
Hypertexts do NOT have one single interpretation. They are like super concentrated poetry.

Have you ever explicated (explained or looked at closely) a poem? Then you know that if
you can make an interpretation consistent with the words, then that interpretation is accurate.

Why don't you tell me why you think Stained Word Windows is about insects?

What words make you think this? How would the insects behave? What are the insects saying?

What other interpretations could you provide?

best,
Deena

15- 5 - 2003

Dear Deena,

Thank you for your reply!

In first place, forgive me if my English is a litttle bad!

Yes, I know that one text, in concrete a poem has more than one
meaning,(and more in the hypertextual world!) but it is difficult to me
to understand a poem written in English. But in this case I do not know
to give an interpretation. I am very worried.

I thought the text was dedicated to flying insects, because it gives me
the impression that it speaks about a small world:

(At you: the plane of your existence moves at speeds we
don't understand (the insects move very fast)/
Your: delicate movements, alien world (of insects),
pick over the gravel stones (the insects are always looking for
something)/
Faces: we do not know how to see our faces in your faces
(the insects' faces are very small and difficult to see)/
Windows: what does the glass loos like from your side? (they see it
different?)/
At us: what do you see when you walk by? ( the dimension of the world
of insects is very different)/

I don't know what to say and i am really anxious. I know this could be
a superficial interpretation.
I also have the impressions of isolation, cold, rains and water,
emptiness and that "you" and "us" are separated, but i do not know how
to make a relation. This would be what the insects transmit me.they
behave distants, like in an "alien world", while we are looking at them
and making us questions about their point of view of the world.
I also have a problem because I do not know when "you" is one or more
than one person (or insect!)
But I think that this text is not referred to insects, I think that
there is hidden something deeper.
Do you think I am in the beginning of the correct way?

I also would to know the address of the site that gives info about the
structural works, because i've got some info but I think that it?s not
much. I have visited a lot of pages about you, but i haven't found any
speaking about Stained Word Window.
I hope that some day I'll have my own interpretation!

Well, thank you again for your help and your time spent on me.

ANA

Answer:

Dear Ana,

Your interpretation sounds very cogent and well thought out. You can easily do
the paper like this, and with a bit more thought, you can have a very deep
"under the surface" interpretation. You are on a good track, and you can back up
your thoughts with examples from the work. Think some more about isolation and
emptiness--what do you think it means? And don't worry so much, sit back and have
some fun with this.

Think about the different perspectives in the piece: the "you" can refer to
more than one person: it could be the insect point of view or the human point of
view...

The piece could easily be about insects, and it can be about more than insects
at the same time. That is the wonderful thing about this media, is we have a
multitude of voices simultaneously.

My website http://www.deenalarsen.net/ has some links to other papers from
students under Dr.Vicente Forés López at Universitat de València.

Are you in his course? I would be happy to include a link to your paper from
my page.

I classify Stained Word Windows as one of my "Structural works: These works
explore a structural theme using layout, imagery, words, and navigation."

Think about the layout of the pages. Why do you think the words are laid out
as an X? How does the structure of the word contribute to the meaning of the
piece? What does it mean to have "in" as the center of the piece? Why is "Our"
opposite "at you" and why is "You" opposite "at us"?


Think about the imagery of the piece. What does it mean to have the words in
a stained glass? Stained glass window in English means the colored light windows
you see in churches--it can have a religious connotation. But Stained words
also can mean something that is tainted or stained--we say a stained woman is one
who has "fallen from virtue"

What does navigation mean in this piece? Why would the word in the image be
the title for the stanza? (This is actually a technique I use a lot.
Disappearing Rain is the best example: Here you have 3 layers of using the word as a link
and title. THe first kanji words become links to a secondary kanji, which then
become links to the page in a mystery novel--starring a character with your name
--Anna which sounds like hana, flower in Japanese.)

Well, anyway, have a wonderful time with your interpretation and please let me
know the link.

Best
Deena



17- 5- 2003

Dear Deena,
Thank you a lot for your help. I coul´dn't write you yesterday because

I don't have internet at home and I write you when I have a little time
in the university.

Yesterday I had a very different idea. All happened when I was watching
through my bedroom's window. I watched people walking up and down on
the street and I thought in the poem: How does the glass looks from
your side? how do you see the world? What do you see when we walk by?

I had the perspective about a person who is watching the people and is

wondering about the world and the behaviour of the people, who
sometimes behave like insects, strange people.

About the graphic I have thought that Our is opposite To us because one
is staring and wondering questions about the other, and I think it's
the same with You and At us.

I have thought that the colors are also important because they look
like a stained glass window (vidriera in spanish)

I believe that this new idea is better than the insects one, but i have
thought that i don't have to leave this idea out and i can compare the
sometimes strange behaviour of the people with the insects.

Yesterday I hadn't got time to analise more deeply the poem, but i am a
little bit happy about my new discovered point of view.

What do you think?

Oh, yes, I am with Vicente Forés, but I don't know how to give you my
link, I just know that to see my paper you have to go to www.uv.es and
after write in the URL mural.uv.es/abordel, and there is my paper, but
I must tell you that is in spanish! And I don't have done much work

Well, I hope you keep on guiding me. I liked to know that Ana is flower
on japanese. you had to live a lot of new experiences when you were
living there (this is what i read)

So, kisses for you and thank you for your help!!

ANA

Answer:

Very good analysis here, Ana.

However, I think you should include both analyses, the insect and your new
insights. I can't write much now as I am at a conference, but please let me know
how you go.

The important thing is to have fun and to spark your thinking!

Best,
Deena

31- 5- 20003

Hello Deena!!!

Sorry for not having written you before!

I have now more things to say about the text, and I have included both versions.

Now I have to speak about the time in Stained Word Window, but I can't find any structure,
so I am going to say that there is not a concrete time, it can be at any time, although
there are some expressions that refer to the past and the future: I have also thought to say that
there are two types of time: The implicit or "hidden" and the "explicit" or real time.

I have also thought about the absence of the time as important as the time itself.

The deadline is on 5th june, and I am very afraid, although I think that your help has improved my paper

Well, I hope to finish my paper. Kisses and thank you a lot!!


ANA


Answer:

Hi Ana,
Sorry for not writing, I am under some tight deadlines.
I do not think you have anything to worry about or to be afraid about.
The idea behind reading critically and doing literary analysis is to determine
what you can see in the text. So what I as author think is almost irrelevant.
(I suppose most theorists would say it is completely irrelevant, but as
an author, I like to think I count for something.)

I liked your explanation, and I may not have all the nuances of Spanish,
but it looked pretty good to me. Your image links are broken, though...
I will link to your page from my site. I think your thoughts on time are good
--there are many kinds of time.

Have fun and good luck on your paper!

Deena