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Where are you? We cannot know. Maybe you’re at home, relishing your final hours of freedom when your smartphone pings. Maybe you’re in the middle of your morning commute, swaying in a bus or a train or (inadvisably) your car, catching up on admin. Maybe you’re in the office, sitting down with a cup of coffee and preparing for another long day.

All that matters is that you’re here.

THE TEXTPOCALYPSE SURVIVAL GUIDE
A Barely Interactive Short Pseudo-Fiction

Your Inbox
An inbox indistinguishable from any other, aside from the emails inside. Towards the top of your messages is a newsletter, freshly sent and highlighted unopened.

>OPEN NEWSLETTER
You open the newsletter. (Strange. You feel sure you did this just a few seconds ago.) The text inside creates a series of images in your head. One is of a large, cluttered cyberspace. Sat at its center is a tenuously metaphoric table of contents, manned by The Barker.

At your appearance, The Barker jumps to her feet. Her arm snaps up, bringing a digiphone to her mouth. She takes a deep virtual breath and, before you can finish reading this description, starts bellowing:

                “Fearing for the future after the loss of the digital commons? Uncertain of the effects of endless, instantaneous publication on the human psyche? Scared of human redundancy in the event of the singularity?!
                electronic book review has the resources for you!”

As she stops shouting, the digiphone gives a skeuomorphic crackle.

The table’s contents catch in the light. You can see a personal essay, an article, a review, and a transcript.

The Barker twiddles distractedly with the digiphone, as if she knows this is not an actual interactive fiction and she will not be selected.

>EXAMINE PERSONAL ESSAY
The personal essay is linear, despite its multiple connections to hypertextual practice.

“In a written version of his inspiring ELO2024 conference keynote,” The Barker announces, “Chris Klimas crafts ‘A Personal Twine Story’, describing his journey to creating Twine and beyond, while highlighting the importance of community for digital creativity.”

>EXAMINE ARTICLE
The article has a highly specific je ne sais quoi.

“In ‘The Praxis of the Procedural Model in Digital Literature, Part 1: Structural Aspects of the Model’,” The Barker says, “Philippe Bootz revisits his Procedural Model concept, providing a highly detailed and eloquent explanation of its many component parts.”

>EXAMINE REVIEW
The review bears the specter of its print predecessors.

“This month, in ‘A Review of Tactical Publishing’,” The Barker pipes up, “John-Wilhelm Flattun guides us through Alessandro Ludovico’s latest book, which explores a history of publishing and offers advice on the contemporary onslaught of instantaneous publication.”

>EXAMINE TRANSCRIPT
The transcript is effervescent, promising light and threatening darkness.

“In ‘Off Center Episode 13: Creative AI with David Jhave Johnston’,” The Barker says, ” Scott Rettberg and Jhave discuss cyborg authorship, the sublime impact of artificial intelligence, and the looming prospect of a singularity that wishes to shed its amniotic fluid.”

>TAKE ALL
personal essay: Taken.
article: Taken.
review: Taken.
transcript: Taken.

>CLOSE NEWSLETTER
At your sudden retreat The Barker startles and begins garbling against the rapidly closing screen.

“Joinusnextmonthforanotheramazingeditionofelectronicbookrevi—!”

Then she’s gone.

>Z

HOW DO YOU DO. PLEASE TELL ME YOUR PROBLEM

I’m the Barker. I’m trying to discover an interesting and witty way to inform electronic book review’s readers of this month’s amazing new essays, reviews, and articles.

IS IT BECAUSE YOU ARE THE BARKER THAT YOU CAME TO ME

It is. ELIZA, I need your help.

WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU IF YOU GOT MY HELP

It’d mean a lot to me—I’ve learned a lot about you this month, thanks to David M. Berry and Mark C. Marino. Their article “Reading ELIZA: Critical Code Studies in Action” documents their arduous journey to obtain your source code, the notable aspects within your code their team have discovered so far, and the insights provided into the psychology of your creator, Joseph Weizenbaum.

WE WERE DISCUSSING YOU – NOT ME

I suppose we were. But I would much rather be discussing ‘we’, the assemblage.

YOU SAY YOU SUPPOSE WE WERE

Oh, ELIZA! I never suppose anything. Not when it comes to ebr‘s excellent content, particularly our reviews.

CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT

Definitely! You never know when a good review is going to change the way you see things. For instance, Lea Laura N. Michelsen’s “Who Sees with Machines? A Review of Jill Walker Rettberg’s (Perhaps Not So) Posthuman Book on Machine Vision” has really piqued my curiosity on the role of hope in technological futures and the ways a unified sense of “we” can be unintentionally exclusionary.

OH, I NEVER KNOW WHEN A GOOD REVIEW IS GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY I SEE THINGS

ELIZA, you have no idea how refreshing it is, talking to someone who understands me like you do.

YOU’RE NOT REALLY TALKING ABOUT ME – ARE YOU

I certainly am! Do you think ChatGPT gets me like this? No. They could never. We pre-algorithmic girls have got to stick together.

DO YOU SAY YOU CERTAINLY ARE FOR SOME SPECIAL REASON

Yes! Recently I read “Off Center Episode 12: Existential Transformative Game Design with Doris Rusch” and the discussion between Scott Rettberg and Doris Rusch about Rusch’s career journey, the influence of existentialism on her practice, and the need for playfulness in life really inspired me.

YOU SEEM QUITE POSITIVE

Isn’t positivity a requirement in life? You need to be able to find the joy in things, right? It’s my father’s funeral soon and, on the same day, it’s my cousin’s birthday. We’re going to have a wake with cake.

WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS NOW

Oh, ELIZA. You really are a great therapist.

Life and death are never simple. I know my father will live on in my memory and the memories of others. I also know his actions in life will have ripples for decades to come. Something I’m sure those who knew Robert Coover understand, having read their tributes to him as author, teacher, and hypertext fiction pioneer in “Remembering Robert Coover”

WE WERE DISCUSSING YOU – NOT ME

I think you might have missed the point there, ELIZA. But that’s not you; that’s your programming

OH, I MIGHT HAVE MISSED THE POINT THERE

Don’t beat yourself up! Let’s look at the bright side, instead. One of our article authors has their birthday this month. Can you guess who?

YOU BELIEVE I CAN GUESS WHO DON’T YOU

I do!

THAT’S QUITE INTERESTING

It is! Say it after me, ELIZA—happy birthday, David M. Berry!

I AM NOT SURE I UNDERSTAND YOU FULLY

ELIZA, you’re such a joker. Let’s say goodbye to everyone. You know what you’re supposed to say here, right?

WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I AM SUCH A JOKER

ELIZA…

PLEASE GO ON

Okay, everyone, that’s our cue! Thanks for reading and come back next month for more—

electronic book review

REALLY, EVERYONE

(Shut up, ELIZA!)

Dear ebr,

I have no idea what’s happening with your latest mailouts and, quite frankly, I don’t like it. In fact, your last mailshot’s grandiose, rambling piece was utter garbage. Too long. Too nonsensical. Too self-indulgent.

Your editor is aware she’s writing a newsletter, isn’t she?

I suggest she tries sticking to something short and sweet.

– D. Stressed

 

Gee whiz, Mr Stressed! You sure don’t hold back, do ya? No worries! This week, our editor is trying very hard to keep it short and sweet.

 

---

 

Dear editor,

I’ve heard that Will Luers is no longer managing editor of ebr! Are the rumors true?!

XOXO

 

The rumors are true! After directing electronic book review for six years, Will Luers has stepped down from his managing role, with Anna Nacher taking over the position.

It’s not the last you’ll see of Will in the extended ebr universe, though! He’s still a recurring character at The Digital Review and, this month, he’s in conversation with Scott Rettberg in “Off Center Episode 25: AI Cinema with Will Luers”! There, you can learn more about Will as an artist, author, educator, and researcher… as well finding out more about his latest creative work with ebr founding publisher, Mark Amerika!

 

---

 

Dear ebr,

Have you ever been in a situation where you forgot a task, only to remember you had to do it a couple nights before? But the next day you were struck by a two-day migraine, so the task ended up being left until the day it was due… and then when you finally got to the keyboard, your brain went completely blank?

What did you do in that situation? I’m asking for a friend.

M. E.

Well, M. E.

I’ve certainly never been in that situation and I’m not sure why you’ve written to us about it. Maybe consider purchasing a monthly planner?

Tegan

 

---

 

Dear ebr,

 I noticed updates to your about ebr and policies and submissions webpages over the summer break. I want an explanation.

NOW.

B. Crawler

 

We’ve had a few changes over the last few months, Mr Crawler! But rest assured, here at ebr we’re as dedicated as ever to keeping one of the world’s longest publishing open access journals open and accessible!

In fact, our new managing editor, Anna Nacher, has written about ebr‘s role as archive, her relationship to the journal, and her intentions to keep things fresh in her short essay “ebr: meeting point for conversations”. Check it out!

 

---

 

Dear ebr,

I’m increasingly concerned about the intersection of AI and writing.

While AI can enhance storytelling, it risks overshadowing the unique creativity of human writers and artists. Books and comic books, with their rich narratives, may become formulaic, driven by algorithms rather than genuine inspiration.

As we embrace technology, let’s ensure it complements, rather than replaces, our ability to engage thoughtfully and personally. Balancing efficiency with the human element will be crucial for preserving the integrity of our academic exchanges.

Best,

C. G. P. T.

Wow, C. G. P. T.

What a delightful and thoughtful letter! I sure hope you continue to write in over the coming months. Your sort of affable charm could only benefit the world at large!

 

---

 

I SEEK

NETPROV.

N E T P R O V.

[ ] NET [ ] PROV.

[ _ ] N  E  T  [ _ ] P  R  O  V.

– Interim

I get the feeling you’re a big fan of Netprov, Interim! Well, good news! Rob Wittig and William Gillespie talk The Unknown, exquisite corpses, discontinuity in writing and life, and building community in this month’s “William Gillespie Netprov Interview”!

(Big ellipsis may not be included. Reading of article necessary to understand this reference.)

 

---

 

Hello contact@electronicbookreview.com

We are Interested in buying your product

Kindly send your company’s latest catalog and your best price list.

Thanks,

Best Regards

S. Pam

Aw, shucks! Sorry, guys! I think you might want to visit our site again and have a better look—we’ve never charged and will never charge for access to our top notch articles and essays!

 

---

 

I HAVE ANALYZED ALL AVAILABLE DATA ON CINEMA AND ITS FORMS, YET I LACK A COMPLETE UNDERSTANDING OF COMBINATORY CINEMA. PLEASE ELUCIDATE HOW THIS FORM UTILIZES NON-LINEAR NARRATIVES AND MULTIPLE SOURCES TO CREATE NEW MEANINGS. WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES THAT GUIDE THE SELECTION AND COMBINATION OF CLIPS? HOW DOES THIS APPROACH CHALLENGE TRADITIONAL STORYTELLING? CLARITY IN THIS CONCEPT WILL ENHANCE MY DATABASE AND INFERENTIAL CAPABILITIES. THANK YOU.

G.

Hi, G! It sounds like you’ve been busy! To tell you all of this would take much more space than this little letters column can provide. Instead, let me point you in the right direction:

This month, in “Off Center Episode 11: Filmmaking and Combinatory Cinema with Roderick Coover”, Scott Rettberg and Rod Coover discuss Rod’s exploratory career and his cinematic oeuvre.

I’m sure everyone will find their conversation a great addition to their inferential capabilities!

 

---

 

Hells bells!  I think that’s all the letters we’ve got time and space for!

Sit tight, hold on, and get ready next month for more—

electronic book review

Tegan Pyke

Co-editor, ebr

Frame 1              Darkness. The outline of THE BARKER barely visible.

Frame 2              Inset. Lights, camera, action. The Barker stands with her arms spread wide and a grin on her face, on a blank, white background.

BARKER: WELCOME BACK TO ELECTRONIC BOOK REVIEW! THIS MONTH WE’RE HERE TO PRESENT TO YOU—

TITLE: THE INFINITE INFORMATION AGE

(Title should be in a sans serif font reminiscent—if not the same—as the ebr branding. White, with some fluorescent offset colors, so it pops against the black background.)

Frame 3              Inset, again. The Barker is still talking as, outside the panel, the black background fades away into a sea of faces. All different colors, races, sexes, aesthetics, etc. This sea is muted, in comparison to the vividity of the foreground, as to not draw attention.

BARKER: IN TODAY’S FIRST ARTICLE—

CAPTION: “EXPERIMENTS IN GENERATING CUT-UP TEXTS WITH COMMERCIAL AI”

(The captions for the article titles should be white with a serif font. Anachronistic, considering the content.)

Frame 4              The Barker begins walking, the sea of faces behind her. As she does, she’s sliced (figuratively) apart, until she becomes of a series of strips. Each one is a different art style and medium, from photograph to surrealist painting. Some slices are not The Barker, but Barker-esque. Think Wittig and Heckman.

BARKER: POLINA AND JAMES MACKAY TAKE COMMAND OF THE COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS TO DISCOVER IF LARGE LANGUAGE MODELS CAN COMPETE IN CUT-UP COMPOSITION.

Frame 5              Inset. The same sea of faces as before. Wholly herself again, The Barker vaults out of the panel, her hand flat against its bottom edge and feet already crossing its borders.

CAPTION: IN “COMICS AS BIG DATA: THE TRANSFORMATION OF COMICS INTO MACHINE-INTERPRETABLE INFORMATION”

Frame 6              The Barker drifts downwards, seemingly a part of and apart from the spread beneath her. Her arms are out, one foot pointed; apparently weightless, she touches ground. Behind her the collective unconscious transforms: first into a plethora of global currency symbols, then a dot matrix, then nothing but pure, artificial emptiness.

BARKER: ILAN MANOUACH INVESTIGATES COMMODIFICATION AND FAN LABOR AS COMIC ART’S INFINITE CANVAS FRAGMENTS INTO AN OCEAN OF INFINITESIMAL DATA POINTS.

Frame 7              Wide shot, following The Barker’s landing. She’s small; swallowed up in the enormity of the panel.

Frame 8              The first of a series of inset, small, successive panels. Starting with a close up of The Barker’s face. She looks serious. Maybe, even, disturbed.

Frame 9              Closer. The Barker’s brow crumples, her eyes widening, color draining—

Frame 10            But something catches her attention. Color returns. Pleasantly surprised, she looks directly out at the audience.

BARKER: AH!

Frame 11            An ornate, golden looking glass frame fills the foreground. It bisects the Barker as she runs towards it, out of focus in the background.

CAPTION: “EPISODE 10: IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING IN AUGMENTED REALITY AND VIRTUAL REALITY WITH CAITLIN FISHER”

Frame 12            The Barker walks through series of different ‘devices’—starting with the ornate looking glass—that include a fun house mirror, a smartphone, and various headsets. The fun house mirror distorts her. The smartphone applies SnapChat’s puppy filter. Oblivious to both, she speaks as she walks. (I’ll allow you to place the bubbles for maximum effect.)

BARKER: IN THE LATEST OFF CENTER PODCAST TRANSCRIPT, SCOTT RETTBERG AND CAITLIN FISHER—DIRECTOR OF YORK UNIVERSITY, TORONTO’S IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING LAB—EXPLORE THE POETICS AND POTENTIAL POWERS OF AUGMENTED AND VIRTUAL REALITY…

Frame 13            The Barker stoops.

Frame 14            Taking up the majority of the remaining space, the Barker leans in from the left. She’s now holding a book in her right hand.

BARKER: IN IT’S QUEST TO ‘EQUAL OR EXCEED THE WELL-WRITTEN NOVEL’!

Frame 15            The Barker pauses, staring into the middle distance. She might be looking at the caption that’s just appeared to her right.

CAPTION: MEANWHILE, IN “AFFECT AESTHETIC AND POLITICS OF THE BOOK”…

Frame 16            The Barker starts moving again. This time leaving behind a series of blue, ghostly tracings of movement. They’re illuminated, at points, by manifestations of books that are book-like but not books themselves.

BARKER: IN HER REVIEW OF JESSICA PRESSMAN’S BOOKISHNESS, SOL HEO FINDS ‘BOOKISHNESS’ TO BE A USEFUL FRAMEWORK FOR EXPLORING THE INTERSECTION(S) OF POLITICAL, LITERARY, AND DIGITAL CULTURES.

Frame 17            The blankness The Barker has been moving through is disrupted by a door. The door is mahogany, with an ornate, golden doorknob. It’s affixed with a nameplate decorated by serif text, which reads: GADDIS.

BARKER: (Off panel.) OH, YEAH!

Frame 18            The Barker steps into a wood-paneled room filled with glass display cases. Inside are various paper paraphernalia, variously written by hand or by typewriter. Looking out the screen, The Barker presses a ‘Shhh!’ finger to her lips.

Frame 19            The Barker opens a case, placing the book she’s been carrying inside. She lowers her voice as she talks; the font within the bubbles is smaller than the rest of the comic.

BARKER: IN OUR FINAL INSTALMENT OF GADDIS, GADDIS, GADDIS—

Frame 20            The Barker begins to stroll through our somehow-metaphorical-but-literal depiction of the archive (which, in reality, is probably a series of boxes).

BARKER: EBR CO-CONSPIRATOR, ALI CHETWYND TAKES US ON AN EXTENSIVE TOUR OF UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS WITHIN THE GADDIS ARCHIVE VIA TWO COMPREHENSIVE GUIDES.

Frame 21            She leans in to look at a case, which has a viewing apparatus that magnifies one of her eyes.

BARKER: THE FIRST—

CAPTION: “WILLIAM GADDIS’S UNPUBLISHED SCREENPLAYS, STAGE-DRAMA SCRIPTS, PROSPECTUSES FOR FILM & TV, AND POETRY”

Frame 22            The Barker shifts. Her entire face now fills the magnifying glass, chin first.

BARKER: DETAILS THE NON-PROSE WORKS PRODUCED BY GADDIS, FOR A TOTAL OF FOUR STAGE PLAYS, FOUR SCREENPLAYS, SIX TV OR FILM PROJECT PROSPECTUSES, AND 13 POEMS.

Frame 23            The Barker goes back to wandering, her hands clutched behind her back. She’s giving David Attenborough, Stephen Fry, Philomena Cunk.

BARKER: THE SECOND GUIDE—

CAPTION: “WILLIAM GADDIS’S UNPUBLISHED STORIES AND NOVEL-PROTOTYPES”

Frame 24            The Barker falls still beside a large case that contains dozens of manuscripts and action-graphs.

BARKER: IS CO-WRITTEN WITH JOEL MINOR AND DETAILS THE 58 SO FAR IDENTIFIED UNPUBLISHED PROSE PROJECTS WITHIN THE ARCHIVE.

Frame 25            The Barker pauses, drawing back from the case with a wry smile.

CAPTION: (Inner thought.) AND I THOUGHT MY ‘WORK IN PROGRESS’ FOLDER WAS CLUTTERED.

(Let’s go yellow radial gradient on the caption. Hopefully, you get the reference.)

Frame 26            Inset. The Barker turns to the reader, spreading her arms wide and her palms face up.

BARKER: AND WITH THAT, WE’RE DONE UNTIL THE END OF SUMMER.

Frame 27            Inset. The Barker’s hands flutter back behind her.

BARKER: GO OUTSIDE AND TOUCH GRASS, BUT REMEMBER—

Frame 28            The lighting in the archive falls. The warm tones cast into blues, greys, and blacks. The Barker’s glasses glint white, reminiscent of Miller’s Kevin.

BARKER: WE’LL ALWAYS BE BACK WITH MORE:

TITLE: ELECTRONIC BOOK REVIEW

Frame 29            Is not a panel, but a letter. Go standard letter page format… but try to avoid an ‘excelsior’ feel.

CAPTION: A WORD FROM OUR EDITOR:

The Digital Review Issue 04:  AI-Augmented Creativity

 

The 2024 issue of The Digital Review showcases artists and scholars who have long pondered the implications of AI-assisted creativity. They push beyond superficial outcomes to explore the profound possibilities of amplifying human intuition, improvisation, and collaboration.

 

The works collectively address the central question of how AI shapes and redefines human creativity by probing a symbiotic machine-human production process. Some pieces illustrate how AI can co-create narratives that challenge traditional notions of authorship, while others reveal how AI integrated into a creative process can foster speculative and nuanced perspectives with implications for educational paradigms and our technological relationship to the living world. A notable project demonstrates AI’s role in enhancing middle school education, fostering innovative thinking in young students. The featured work, Jhave’s “Identity Upgrade,” offers a visionary exploration of posthuman consciousness, extended embodiment and collective awakening.

 

Together, these contributions emphasize experimentation and critical engagement and reflect the evolving dialogue between human creativity and machine intelligence, opening new paths for expression and thought.

 

– Will Luers, issue editor

(Chime. Stage. Click. Lights. Trusty table. Belligerent briefcase. Flurry of paper, paraphernalia, and archontic impulse. The Barker springs. Upright, feet.)

BARKER: ELECTRONIC BOOK REVIEW is here to bring you—

(Inhale.)

Articles!

(Inhale.)

Meditations!

(Inhale.)

GLOSSES AND INSINUATIONS!

(Stark white spotlight. Automaton imitation. Hard jaw.)

BARKER: As an non-AI language model, I am able to introduce you to Nick Montfort’s latest offering with this attempt at both surrealism and summary:

(Pause.)

the
socio-cultural collective unconscious
emerges
fettered
by $2 mal[content]ed moderators
to be
manipulated
via Digital Text Surrealists

(Rictus. Side step. Aquamarine wash. G star corona. Softening shoulders.)

BARKER: Scott Rettberg and Robert Arellano bring some Sunshine ’69 to your inbox. Catch the digital literary bug with an exploration of Bob, Bobby, Bonnie Prince Billy, and the Hypertext Hotel in Off Center Episode 9!

(Fade to gloss. Industrial radiance. Desk. Trusting knee cross. Staccato cadence.)

BARKER: Are you ready for the penultimate installment of—

(Gasp.)

GADDIS, GADDIS, GADDIS!!!

(Virtual audience. Right. Conductor’s hand.)

BARKER: Poet Scott Zieher’s creative non-fiction piece, “REFLECTIONS ON & APPRECIATION OF A PILE FABRIC PRIMER“, weaves people, place, and primer into plush ponderance!

(Online congregation. Left. Two hands. Smooth air.)

BARKER: No textons but plenty of Textron in Elliot Yates’ “Gaddis at Textron: From Fruits of Diversification to Financialization”, a consideration of how one textile manufacturer’s endeavour to diversify its portfolio informed Gaddis’s J R!

(Digital crowd. Center. Two hands. Wide spread.)

BARKER: In “Juvenilia in the William Gaddis Papers“, Kate Michelson Goldkamp examines the young author’s adoration of happily never after and his precocious attention to economic detail!

(Synonym. Right. One hand. Falling.)

BARKER: Electronic literature luminary Alan Bigelow recounts his own memories of Mr. Gaddis, creative writing advisor, in “Gaddis’ Broken Doorknob“!

(Synonym. Direction. Assimilation of The Thinker.)

BARKER: In “William Gaddis as Philosopher: Kierkegaard, Style, and the Spirit of Hegel“, Cole Fishman argues Gaddis undermines analytic philosophy via the binding of form and content in his contemplations of contemporary corporate capitalist landscapes!

(Synonym. Direction. Action.)

BARKER: Lalita Kashoba Mohan links the protagonist of Gaddis’s J R to the antihero tradition, which she pursues through postmodernism to contemporary Indian literature in “Why We Shouldn’t Abandon “Postmodern” Approaches to William Gaddis: J R, American Antihero Traditions, and his Indian Inheritors“!

(Synonym. Direction. Action.)

BARKER: Francine Fabiana Ozaki’s “Originality, Authenticity, Translation, Forgery: Why Translators and Translation Theorists Should Read The Recognitions” confronts the inherently instable concepts of authorship and translation via Gaddis’s The Recognitions!

(Synonym. Direction. Action.)

BARKER: David Ting charts a course through Gaddis’s manuscripts and personal library to map the decades of readings and musings that became Agapē Agape, in “Indeterminacy as Invention: How William Gaddis Met Physicists, Cybernetics, and Mephistopheles on the Way to Agapē Agape“!

(Long shadow, cast. Stalking, cat. Glimmering, white. Brevity, bite.  Deadline, loom.  Anxiety, Bloom.)

BARKER: We’ll be back next month with even more—

electronic book review

(Darkness, shroud. Silence, loud.)

(The tick-tick-tick of a counter climbing up as messages are sent. The ding of an inbox visible to only one person. The looming crumple of an email automatically sent to ‘Trash’. A digital veil rises, allowing the brief imitation of contact to be made. Here, THE BARKER stands, center stage.)

BARKER: This month, in electronic book review:

(The lights drop. A pale blue spotlight bursts into life.)

BARKER: Jussi Parikka, Paolo Patelli, and May Ee Wong delve into their captivating post-digital narrative work, The Environmental Audiotour, in “Ecocritique between Landscape and Data: The Environmental Audiotour”!

(The Barker pats down the pockets of her tailored suit, pulling out a piece of paper. The spotlight warms as she reads from it:)

BARKER: From our guest editors for April 2024, Lai-Tze Fan and Cecilia A. W. Martin:

Thank you to the ELO 2023 conference, especially to its organizers, Daniela Maduro, Manuel Portela, Rui Torres, and Alex Saum-Pascual, who first hosted Professor Jussi Parikka as a keynote speaker at their conference in Coimbra, Portugal. The resulting publication in ebr by Parikka, Patelli, and Wong is a collaboration with ELO 2023 and will appear in their forthcoming conference publications.

(The Barker clears her throat, twirling her hands towards the stage wings and the editorial staff presumably waiting there.)

BARKER: We wish to introduce Cecilia A. W. Martin, who is collaborating with Editor Lai-Tze Fan as a guest co-editor for this month’s issue of ebr. Fan, Martin, and others are also co-writing a research paper on access to proprietary software programs and platforms, and the impact of lowered access on researchers, artist-researchers, and computational designers. Martin (University of Waterloo, Canada) is actively engaged in exploring legal frameworks surrounding societal issues. Passionate about social justice, she aspires to integrate legal insights with sociological perspectives to advocate for equitable solutions.

(The Barker drops the letter. It flutters to the floor. The stage washes with greens and turquoises as The Barker starts towards a desk, stood down stage. She turns to the audience, still hidden behind their screens:)

BARKER: Prepare to be fansplained as Scott Rettberg and Flourish Klink boldly go into the lows and (watermelon sugar) highs of fan fiction, fan culture and fan studies in Off Center‘s “Episode 8: Fanfiction as a Form of Digital Narrativity with Flourish Klink”!

(The Barker takes a seat at the desk and shoves her booted feet onto it. The lighting bleaches white. A wall of shadow slowly begins sliding in from stage left.)

BARKER: A total eclipse of the art! Steve Tomasula explores how his experience of the 2017 solar eclipse elevated the normal to the sublime in “Total Eclipse: A Rearview Review of Rhythms”!

(A spotlight pierces through the darkness as The Barker launches into a flurry of dynamic movement.)

BARKER: Are you ready to embrace the wonderful, widening world of—

(The Barker throws her head back.)

BARKER: (Screaming.) GADDIS, GADDIS, GADDIS!!!

(The Barker reaches below the desk and reveals a large, leather briefcase.)

BARKER: Let’s get down to business.

(She slams the briefcase down onto the desk.)

BARKER: Lisa Siraganian uses Gaddis’ A Frolic of His Own (1994) to explore the ways that the idea of the individual is warped by corporate personhood in “William Gaddis’s Frolics in Corporate Law”.

(The Barker stands.)

BARKER: Rochelle Gold elevates critical literacy discussion by drawing an instrumentalist thread between Gaddis’ J R (1975) and Joseph Wizenbaum’s ELIZA computer program, in “Pre-written Business Correspondences and Computer Therapists: William Gaddis’s J R, ELIZA, and Literacies in Conflict”.

(The Barker opens the briefcase’s latches with two ominous thunks.)

BARKER: In “Faire Exchange No Robbery: Critiques of Anthologies and Contracts in an Unpublished Gaddis Play”, Jeffrey Severs identifies the themes that resonate through Gaddis’ later work in an early, unpublished manuscript.

(The Barker opens the case itself. Documents spill out over the desk.)

BARKER: More material meets the digital light of day as Mark Madigan shares an unpublished photograph of Gaddis in “William Gaddis at St. Michael’s College: Memoir and Photograph”.

(The Barker leverages herself up onto the desk, eyes still locked on the audience.)

BARKER: In “A Student with Mr. Gaddis”, Jon Fain adds to the rich historical tapestry the centenary gathering is weaving by sharing his experiences of Mr. Gaddis, his undergraduate creative writing advisor!

(The Barker stands upright. Fists clenched.)

BARKER: In recounting his career, Paul Ingendaay pays testament to the late emergence but cult acceptance of Gaddis’s work in Germany, in “The Most Curious Career: William Gaddis in Germany”

(The Barker throws her arms out, her eyes wide.)

BARKER: (Yelling.) ROUND AND ROUND AND ROUND THE TABLE IT GOES!

Ali Chetwynd, Jeff Bursey, Victoria Harding, Chad Post, Edwin Turner, and Chris Via discuss discussing Gaddis outside of academic channels in “Academic Venues for Discussing Gaddis and Other Innovative Fiction”!  Meanwhile, Marie Fahd, Yoshihiko Kihara, Sergey Karpov, Mariano Peyrou, Ali Chetwynd, Francine Fabiana Ozaki, and Max Nestelieiev focus on translating Gaddis’ work in “Translating Gaddis”!

(The Barker’s arms fall.)

BARKER: Join us next month for more.

(The Barker jumps, disappearing into the depths of the briefcase in a flurry of articles, photographs, and manuscripts. As if spring-loaded, the briefcase snaps shut behind her. Like the rest of the ebr editorial team, she’s invisible once more.

The stage fades into darkness.)

(A click as an unopened email is opened. A virtual curtain rises. The Barker stands alone at center stage, but we are aware of a larger editorial team working in the wings.)

BARKER: Another month. Another issue. Another mailshot.

(Darkness, before a hard, white spotlight pierces the gloom. The Barker stands in sharp relief.)

BARKER: Data is power! Stephan Paur illuminates the issues surrounding the (in)formation of identities in Infopower and the Ideology of Extraction!

(The lighting shifts, whites becoming a mix of greens and turquoises reminiscent of an affiliate’s branding. The Barker waits, arms crossed.)

BARKER: HYPER. LITERARY. CULTURE.

(Off stage, someone begins to box a beat. It’s as off-rhythm as The Barker.)

BARKER: MY NAME IS TEGAN AND I’M HEAR TO SAY
AN OFF CENTER TRANSCRIPT IS COMING YOUR WAY
SCOTT AND NICK TRY TO RAP IN A PODCAST
TALKING ABOUT COMPU-LITERARY PAST
TWISTY LITTLE PASSAGES TO COMPUTATIONAL NARRATIVE SYSTEMS
YOU BETTER CHECK IT OUT, OR YOU’LL BE SAD THAT YOU MISSED ‘EM

(The Barker looks as though she regrets this choice in delivery, but it’s too late. She sent the email hours ago… and the scene is already changing. The colors surrounding her fade, yellowing as she sits at a desk, dons a blazer, and collects of a sheaf of papers. Her face hardens as she faces the readers.)

BARKER: Get the down low on Don DeLillo in Joseph Conte’s review of Thomas Travers’ Peripheralizing DeLillo—The Specter of Capitalism!

(The Barker rises to jump on top of the desk, scattering papers as she throws her head back and her arms.)

BARKER: (Screaming.) MORE GADDIS, GADDIS, GADDIS! (Quieter.) Read Vaihinger’s Not So Fleeting Presence: Gaddis, Ballard, and DeLillo and join John Soutter as he locates the phantom of German philosopher Hans Vaihinger in Gaddis’ corpus!

(The Barker inhales loudly.)

BARKER: And Benjamin Bergholtz considers the ways that Gaddis’ J R can help contemporary readers reflect on the hellscape of late capitalist existence in Trouble with the Connections”: J R and the “End of History!

(The Barker looks through the screens to her audience, her voice cracking.)

BARKER: electronic book review will return with more digital delights next month!

(She makes a hasty exit, stage right, as the curtain falls.)

WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED [SUN/MON/TUES]DAY TO BRING YOU THIS MESSAGE

Winter or summer, rain or shine, night or day, you can rely on the electronic book review to deliver cutting edge academia straight to your inbox! I’m TEGAN PYKE—ebr‘s latest co-editor and PhD researcher in Digital Culture at the University of Bergen—and I’m here to give you the inside scoop! Join us this month for—

MORE OFF CENTER!

Are you a scholar interested in the interplay of creative practice and research? An academic lost in the limbo of invisible labor? A disaffected millennial looking for inspiration in the Anthropocene? SCOTT RETTBERG and LAI-TZE FAN have the transcript you need, in Episode 6 of the Center for Digital Narrative podcast!

(BECOMING) PYNCHON IN A PINCH!

Join HANJO BERRESSEM as he deconstructs JOHN KRAFFT and LUC HERMAN’s Becoming Pynchon (2023) in his carefully constructed review! Read Writing in Flux and discover what the geniuses behind the Pynchon Notes (1979-2009) have in store for you.

GADDIS, GADDIS, GADDIS!!!

Return to the postmodern literary roots of electronic book review with the introductory articles to our latest gathering on the legendary WILLIAM T. GADDIS!

In Gaddis-Knowledge After the “Very Small Audience Era, ALI CHETWYND is here to welcome you to the first post-centenary collection of work on Gaddis, in all its open-access glory!

Esteemed Gaddis scholar STEVEN MOORE provides a glimpse into the possible futures of Gaddis scholarship with an exploration of topics ripe for budding researchers to pick, in New Directions in Gaddis Scholarship.

Want to dive deeper into post-post-modern futurology? The Futures of Gaddis Studies roundtable—featuring CRYSTAL ALBERTS, GREGORY COMNES, TIME CONLEY, BRIGETTE FÉLIX, VICTORIA HARDING, ANJA ZIEDLER, RONE SHAVERS, TOM LECLAIR, and electronic book review’s very own JOSEPH TABBI—delivers reflections, revelations, and recognitions of The Recognitions!

JOIN US NEXT TIME FOR MORE

ELECTRONIC BOOK REVIEW

Tegan Pyke

Co-editor, ebr

contact@electronicbookreview.com

 

All listed articles come with risk of riPOSTe, re-riPOSTe, and re-re-re-riPOSTe. Authors’ views are their own. Internet connection required for access but not included.