Email journalism

Time was when writers were appalled by the idea of junking their typewriter for the computer — and sending their pieces to editors and publishers via electronic mail. Now all good communicators cannot function without the Internet. Columnists and reporters are connected to their papers by email  in seconds, and in minutes, they can be read in cyberspace. Poets, short story writers and novelists can be read in websites at the flick of the finger.

Indeed the importance of the Internet in the life of writers was discussed at the PEN Conference held early this year, and as novelist Susan Lara seemed to have summed it all up for the participants, "Most writers can no longer imagine a life without the Internet. You may have to repeal the 21st century for me to go back to the typewriter and snail mail. I get up in the morning and go online before getting my coffee… Our dependence on the Internet may sometimes border on the absurd, but like most dependencies, this one developed because it gave us what we needed."

The conference overall theme was "Texting Texts," and the panelists showed the connection between mass literature and literature in cyberspace. The panelists on the topic of mass literature talked about theater from precolonial times, the traditional verse forms disseminated through the cell phone, the use of kwento (stories with ‘redeeming social value"), and material transmitted into film.

The panel on "Email Journalism: Literature in a Real Hurry,"  presented personal websites devoted to individual works and surveys of Philippine literature, clarifying, in the words of resource person Elmer Ordonez, that "literature in cyberspace (by no means hastily written) is for those who are indeed in a hurry."

Susan spoke about the technology of connectivity as helping writers "who are in a real hurry, by providing fast, easy, and inexpensive connection with other writers and the rest of the world, by serving as tool to create and explore new art forms."

Writers, she said, get in touch with a community of writers by belonging to an egroup, which posts writers’ works, and those in Yahoogroups help critique unpublished works.

Writers can also connect through the Internet Relay Chat, which Susan said, "is a way of talking in real time with people all over the world. The computer, logged onto the Internet, transmits (one’s) typing directly to someone else’s screen. The group’s owner invites a guest coach or writer and sets the specific time for all interested members to log on and have a chat with the guest. It is a helpful and inexpensive way for members to chat with writing coaches or published writers and ask them about their works, their characters, their lives, where they get their ideas, how they become published, etc."

Another art form that a writer can explore through computer technology is hypertext literature, which, according to Susan, "can be read only on the computer screen, presented as a series of electronic pages (lexia), that may be accessed (read) in any order the reader may wish, by clicking on links. Each lexia typically contains several links so that the reader gets to choose the order in which the fiction is read, making each reading different from the last. This nonlinear narrative progression has caused hypertext to be labeled postmodern. In fact, hypertext has been called the visual embodiment of postmodern theory."

Hypertext literature is not entirely new, said Susan. Since it is interactive fiction, "it is simply the cyber equivalent of oral storytelling of the past.  There is a digressive element; there are stories within stories). In hypertext, as in oral narratives, no two tellings are exactly the same for the reader."

In email journalism, said Susan, both the writer and the reader are in a real hurry. "Hypertext fiction, on the other hand, may not necessarily be written by a writer in a real hurry. Both the literary talent and technical skill required for the creation of hypertext fiction are demanding and cannot be achieved overnight. But a techie has hypothesized that is  probably meant for readers in a real hurry — readers who live attention-deficit-disordered lives, and can leave the work anytime to direct their attention somewhere else, and return to it later, without minding the fragmented way of reading."

Ian Rosales Casocot, one of the panelists, designed for his Philippine Literature classes in Silliman University, a website that would offer technology-savvy students and internet surfers of the world wide web, biographical notes on Philippine authors, some samples of their works, discussions on literary issues of the day, as well as literary chismis and a gallery of literary rouges. His website has the most number of hits for Philippine Literature, which, said Marjorie M. Evasco, "makes us conclude that reading is alive and well in the country and the rest of the world."

Ian reported that the Americans, the Europeans, and the Latin Americans seemed to have the widest possible array of information available online. Four years ago, many authors — from Stephen King to Susan Sontag, already had official websites. Amazon and Barnes & Noble carry thousands of titles of their books. One can also easily download copies of stories and poems — whole books even — by  William Faulkner or Jane Austen or William Shakespeare.

Ian reported that the website he created for his Silliman literature classes has had more than 56,000 hits, and still counting. Most of the living authors whose works can be found in the website have included Kerima Polotan (who gave permission to post ‘The Virgin’ as long as there were no typographical errors). People who have helped Ian enrich his website are National Artist Edith Tiempo, Marjorie Evasco, Susan Lara, J. Neil Garcia and Krip Yuson.

Gerardo Z. Torres of De La Salle University-Manila said that he wrote a novelette, "Pink Men in Love" using the email form in 1996-97. Just last year, he wrote a story, "Letting Go" using the text messaging form, and early this  year, he wrote "Ganymede," using the chat form.

"On the whole, I do not think that email and the like hinder in one’s writing," Gerardo said. "I tell my students that technology is the major nemesis of literature, but that is not entirely true because literature is also appropriating or making use of technology for its own benefit. In my case, I used the different forms related to information technology to weave some stories."

A word of warning on dependency on the electronic machine. Susan said, "It is convenient to connect, electronically, but it can be rewarding to disconnect once in a while, switch off the machines, listen to voices, especially inner voices. The Internet should not replace but merely enhance what we have. It does not replace attending literary events and workshops, and sharing good food, good wine and good conversation with writers.

"Email is not a substitute for connecting with your family and friends in more traditional ways. In fact, those who use email must make a conscious effort to connect with those who are not reached by digital technology."

My email: dominimt2000yahoo.com