The Gutenberg revolution, as you all know, is based on the technology of movable type, that is to say, pieces of metal bearing numerous shapes that can be arranged variously in order to produce passages of text. As critics have observed, though, the movement (in terms of the type itself) occurs entirely in the preparation of the manuscript. Once the type is set, its movement comes to a halt (and indeed, critics argue, this has been a very good thing–the reader would likely be perturbed if upon opening up a book its type immediately wobbled, migrated, or fell out).
As you have seen this week, many practitioners of electronic literature are fascinated by the computer’s ability to make moving letters or words part of the reading experience. Indeed, one might count movement as one of the preoccupations of electronic literature generally.
In your comments, please choose TWO works and discuss how you see movement factoring into what these explore and/or accomplish (or at least aim to accomplish as you understand them). By discussing two works, you’ll have a point of comparison in your analysis. You may choose to focus primarily on one, mentioning the other to elucidate specific points.
Questions to consider: What happens to the letters and words once they are set in motion? How do they reflect on shape? How does space (a precondition of movement, of course) affect the work of letterforms or words and phrases? How do electronic texts reflect on what letters and words (whether on their own or in sentences) mean through the introduction of movement?