"I see no reason for calling my work poetry except that there is no other category in which to put it."--Marianne Moore
Marianne Moore's debacle in this quote alludes to something that I have recently been thinking about quite a lot both personally and theoretically-- classification. The boundaries that society and communities have set in order to identify has resulted in the need to classify. I have been in the position lately which makes me wonder what happens when the classifications no longer are effective or true? As an English major just recently getting involved with newer digital media, I find myself wondering where I land. I admit that I was resistant to the idea of the humanities delving into an arena that no longer is defined by the traditional paper forms. However, as I begin to further investigate the ways in which the web an applications such as Facebook and Twitter are transforming communication, it seems necessary even urgent that those interested in the humanities begin to explore digital representation.
Especially working with Moore's letters in the library, the concepts of permanence and access come to mind. An original letter from a famous author has survived 99 years, and because of its preservation I am able to read it in the space in which she wrote it. There is something fundamentally different about reading a handwritten letter with the 1909 Bryn Mawr class insignia as opposed to reading in an edited compilation that has been typed and published. How is the pictorial replication of the original on the website going to transform and create hybrid of those experiences?
All of these questions and more have taken over my brain. I'd love to hear what you think. Stayed tuned for my review of the NINES website and a trip back to Canaday.
Posted by jenrajchel on November 19, 2009
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