Fictional Stimulus
JA
October 02
Fictional Stimulus is the latest project from Bob Stein and his team at the Institute for the Future of the Book. While the phrase ‘stimulus’ has been blatantly overused of late, the London-based ‘think and do tank’ are evidently trying to continue their innovative work here, experimenting with interactivity and public education through a kind of website/bookgroup. The project is already in its second week (it will run for two more) and aims to boost global confidence in literature’s future through releasing several batches of ‘stimuli’ every few days. These consist of things like online fiction, digital poetry, multimedia novellas and related commentary etc.
According to the home page, the project is ‘an introductory taster for those new to reading online’ and most of its content is geared towards exactly that. Experienced web boffins and those who are already well-versed on Stein’s theories will probably find nothing new here. However, those just feeling their way into the world of online reading and the cultural shifts that this involves will most likely find the site engaging. Canadian novelist and champion of digital fiction Kate Pullinger provides the most of the basic commentary here – her videos are short, to the point and wisely never go for more than a few minutes. Some interesting features so far are Inanimate Alice, Pullinger’s digital novel told in ten video instalments, which she likens to the serialised stories of old given its episodic form; Cory Doctorow’s story ‘Constitutional Crisis’ and Jacob Polley’s digital poem ‘The Reader’, which is animated to reveal the drafting process line by line.
Personally, I still think that digital literature is in its infancy. Some of the links and videos on the web still appear slightly uncomfortable to varying degrees. An example would be Chris Meade’s digital flip book In Search of Lost Tim – while the content is engaging enough, trying to replicate the motion of ‘turning pages’ through a web browser doesn’t entirely work (it’s too fiddly and pointless for one). However I still think that there are infinite possibilities to writing and reading online. Hopefully all the things that Stein as the Institute are doing will act as a vital precursor to the truly exciting things yet to come. If you’re interested in being a part of Fictional Stimulus as it takes place, you can sign up here.
Image by Josh Carroll
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Comments
02 Oct 09 at 10:42
I love the experimental nature of it - that this is something they're playing with and just having fun with the process basically. I'm really looking forward to Brisbane's Institute for the Future of the Book (opening in 2010), and seeing what can be done there. Since there are no definitive theories on what is going to work and what isn't, and that artists and writers will, of course, be unimaginably diverse in their take up of the technology, I like the way the Fictional Stimulus guys aren't claiming to have any answers. They're just playing and checking out ideas. Which is what this process should all be about.
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