E-Lit

The e-lit work that I think I draw a lot of experience from print literature like Palahniuk’s books is “Project for Tachistoscope [Bottomless Pit]” by William Poundstone.  It is a story told about a strange geological phenomenon that has a very eerie quality about it.  The way in which the story is told is also very eerie.  The story is told one word at a time, flashed in quick succession, each with a specific image behind it.  In between some of the words there are different words (in a different color) and images that are subliminally flashed as well.  The effect is that each word is chosen very specifically, as is each image.  The plan of the work is very clear: to tell the reader about various strange occurrances around the geological enigmna, but also to shape the way in which the story is read.  The reader is very aware of the subliminal images being shown from the description of the piece and other information the work gives you on the starting page, even though he or she may not be completely aware of what exactly the images are (because they are shown so fast).  The images and words are picked out specifically to have an effect on the reader.

project for tachistoscope

Calvino’s Quickness

My interpretation of Calvino’s definition of quickness is basically the most effective and economical way of telling whatever story you are telling.  This doesn’t necessarily mean the fastest way of telling the story, and relative periods of time have to be taken into consideration (the period of time over which the story takes place versus the period of time over which the story is told).  There are certain elements authors use in telling their stories to help tell them effectively and economically, so the quality of quickness is achieved.  An example of this, Calvino points out, is using both a narrative and verbal link to hold a chain of events together, and stressing repetition so the reader anticipates the repeated situation or phrase.

Grounding Calvino’s definition of quickness in my eperience with print literature, I find this quality evident in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden.  Burnett’s 1911 novel is about an orphaned girl who is sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire, England.  During her time at her uncle’s manor, she, her sickly cousin, and another local boy discover a hidden garden in the manor’s yard and it both physically and emotionally heals the characters in the novel.  The garden without a doubt serves as the narrative link, connecting the progress of each character and continuously bringing the characters together.  There are several verbal links as well throughout the novel.  The garden is constantly described as “brightening” the characters, “reviving” them, etc.  What the garden is described as doing for the characters is a verbal link.  Also, there are words that describe each character’s personality throughout the book as well.  Mary is repeatedly described as plain and surly, but is described less so as the book progresses and the garden transforms her.  The reader looks forward to repeated visits with Dickon, the boy Mary meets, and their repeated trips to the garden.

Mary and Dickon