Twitter is a social networking tool which allows users to stay connected in real time. Messages, known as tweets and limited to 140 characters, are sent to followers. Twitter asks the question "what are you doing now?"
There have been many discussions about what Twitter is and how it can be used.
But...twitter as literature? Let me explain. One of Twitters' features is that it allows the saving of favorites. It also allows users to view the favorites of people they follow. When I look at these favorite tweets what I see are the first sentences of short stories.
Here are some examples:
** Just saw a bear cross the street! Yes, he looked both ways first
** Someone turned out the sun and turned on a north wind. Winter, how I dread thee
** Damn! I was going to weed out back and there's an alligator on our lawn
** Best sight; pulled up to bus stop, saw some motion and opened the doors. Large duck sitting on chair in bus shelter. He quacked, I drove on.
** My current job involves watching 80 yr old women in bathing suits while listening to Alvin & the Chipmunks sing Christmas songs. It's okay.
** You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold. You gotta be wiser, you gotta be hard. You gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
** Being impossible is entirely possible if you put enough effort into it
** For the rest of my life I will always regret not being fast enough to photograph that pigeon running with a lollypop in its beak.
** Upstate New York is all woodsmoke and fog and clouds and a nearly full moon and the roads getting emptier and emptier towards Vermont.
Someday, sometime, someone will write a book of short stories using tweets as the first sentences. Perhaps someone is already doing that right now.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Numinosity
There have been many discussion in the archival world about the debate between the protect and preserve philosophy versus the show, educate and share one, but there's something else which is seldom included in this discussion and that is the sacred power of objects.
When we stand before some objects, we feel or know it in a way that's very different from reading, visualizing, or seeing a photo of it. We want to see something in it's physical form. We’d touch it if we could. It is an intense emotional and personal reaction, a connection, to an object. It is seeing a thing as more than just itself, more than a symbol, and certainly more than just "a thing". It may have great monetary value or a modest one or perhaps, none at all, but the emotions it engenders cannot be valued. Some scholars call these kinds of experiences “numinous”.
Trying to describe such an experience to someone who's never had one, who has never stood before, touched or held something inanimate and felt that experience, is difficult. I might know what it is, but how can I explain it to someone who's never felt it.
The Smithsonian created an exhibit of 150 of the most popular and most powerful objects in their collection. You can find it here. One of these objects is Harriet Power's Bible Quilt.
This is how the Smithsonian describes it:
The work of Harriet Powers, this renowned quilt depicts eleven stories from the Bible, including Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the murder of Abel by Cain, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the Last Supper.
Powers was born a slave in Georgia in 1837. Like many enslaved African Americans, she infused the practice of Christianity with expressions of her cultural roots. Her Bible quilt features appliqué figures similar to those found on west-African textiles.
I have been a quilter for many years and this quilt has always fascinated me. I found a book, now long out of print, which has full color photographs of each block, describes how the quilt was made and how it became part of the Smithsonian collection, and details the symbols in each block. Ten years ago my husband and I went to the Smithsonian. I was overwhelmed with everything I saw. Then I heard my husband's voice say very quietly: "Turn around. There's a quilt behind you." I turned and found myself just a few inches away from Harriet Power's quilt. I almost fell over. I was so tempted to touch the quilt that I clasped my hands behind my back to prevent myself from reaching out to it. I examined the stitch details, marveled at the colors, the applique, and saw how the artist, because artist is what she was, was compelled to make this quilt. I experienced numinosity, something I could not get from seeing a print or digital copy of the quilt. I was awed.
And that brings us again, to the subject of digitizing objects and prolonging the physical object’s life by putting it away in a temperature and humidity controlled, low-light environment in order to preserve it for future generations, or leaving it on display and have it deteriorate, slowly but surely, before our very eyes. Is it better to preserve and protect objects so that they will physically survive at least a bit longer, but at the expense of their death to the public. Or should we let them live and be loved and admired until they physically pass away, allowing people who come stand before them to have their numinous experience.
When we stand before some objects, we feel or know it in a way that's very different from reading, visualizing, or seeing a photo of it. We want to see something in it's physical form. We’d touch it if we could. It is an intense emotional and personal reaction, a connection, to an object. It is seeing a thing as more than just itself, more than a symbol, and certainly more than just "a thing". It may have great monetary value or a modest one or perhaps, none at all, but the emotions it engenders cannot be valued. Some scholars call these kinds of experiences “numinous”.
Trying to describe such an experience to someone who's never had one, who has never stood before, touched or held something inanimate and felt that experience, is difficult. I might know what it is, but how can I explain it to someone who's never felt it.
The Smithsonian created an exhibit of 150 of the most popular and most powerful objects in their collection. You can find it here. One of these objects is Harriet Power's Bible Quilt.
This is how the Smithsonian describes it:
The work of Harriet Powers, this renowned quilt depicts eleven stories from the Bible, including Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the murder of Abel by Cain, the crucifixion of Jesus, and the Last Supper.
Powers was born a slave in Georgia in 1837. Like many enslaved African Americans, she infused the practice of Christianity with expressions of her cultural roots. Her Bible quilt features appliqué figures similar to those found on west-African textiles.
I have been a quilter for many years and this quilt has always fascinated me. I found a book, now long out of print, which has full color photographs of each block, describes how the quilt was made and how it became part of the Smithsonian collection, and details the symbols in each block. Ten years ago my husband and I went to the Smithsonian. I was overwhelmed with everything I saw. Then I heard my husband's voice say very quietly: "Turn around. There's a quilt behind you." I turned and found myself just a few inches away from Harriet Power's quilt. I almost fell over. I was so tempted to touch the quilt that I clasped my hands behind my back to prevent myself from reaching out to it. I examined the stitch details, marveled at the colors, the applique, and saw how the artist, because artist is what she was, was compelled to make this quilt. I experienced numinosity, something I could not get from seeing a print or digital copy of the quilt. I was awed.
And that brings us again, to the subject of digitizing objects and prolonging the physical object’s life by putting it away in a temperature and humidity controlled, low-light environment in order to preserve it for future generations, or leaving it on display and have it deteriorate, slowly but surely, before our very eyes. Is it better to preserve and protect objects so that they will physically survive at least a bit longer, but at the expense of their death to the public. Or should we let them live and be loved and admired until they physically pass away, allowing people who come stand before them to have their numinous experience.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Casualty Figures
I've been reading Casualty Figures: How Five Men Survived the First World War by Michele Barrett. It's one of those books I found by browsing through the new books section at the library. It's about how the psychological damage of their First World War experiences affected the lives of five men--three soldiers and two military doctors-- who either had shell shock or treated it or both.
I have a strong interest in the First World War and that's what first caught my interest. The sheer number of lives lost and suffering was enormous. When I read that 20,000 English soldiers died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme I was certain it was misprint. Twenty-thousand dead on the first day? That couldn't be right. But it was. That battle in 1916 lasted from the beginning of July until mid-November of the same year, when it was called off by the British. The Allied forces were attempting to break through the German lines along a 15 mile front north of the River Somme with the goal to draw German forces away from the Battle of Verdun. The British suffered casulties of 19,240 dead on the first day alone. The total dead in that one battle was estimated at one million men--200,000 French and the rest about evenly split between the Germans and the British. World War I took the lives of nine million soldiers and nearly that many more died on the homefront from food shortages, starvation, genocide, and simply being the unfortunate family living right on the battlefront.
Another thing that intrigued me was that this book is based on research the author did at the Imperial War Museum in London. She read their personal papers--diaries, letters, memoirs, photograph albums and, because it was important to put all this into context, she also examined official unit diaries, regimental histories, and other military and historical sources. She points out that she realized social class would determine what kind of materials survive, reflecting an unevenness in whose stories were there to be told, and she was correct.
I have also been intrigued how World War I resulted in such profound social and economic changes in England. There was a grieving not only for all those young men who'd lost their lives, the women who would never marry and have children, the Lost Generation of the 1920's, but for the way of life, an innocence, that ended because of that war. In some small villages, all of the young men would join up as an enthusiastic group and within days or weeks, every one of them would die. They would be memoralized in plaques with their names in their village churches and now, almost 100 years later, those plaques are all that remains.
I have a strong interest in the First World War and that's what first caught my interest. The sheer number of lives lost and suffering was enormous. When I read that 20,000 English soldiers died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme I was certain it was misprint. Twenty-thousand dead on the first day? That couldn't be right. But it was. That battle in 1916 lasted from the beginning of July until mid-November of the same year, when it was called off by the British. The Allied forces were attempting to break through the German lines along a 15 mile front north of the River Somme with the goal to draw German forces away from the Battle of Verdun. The British suffered casulties of 19,240 dead on the first day alone. The total dead in that one battle was estimated at one million men--200,000 French and the rest about evenly split between the Germans and the British. World War I took the lives of nine million soldiers and nearly that many more died on the homefront from food shortages, starvation, genocide, and simply being the unfortunate family living right on the battlefront.
Another thing that intrigued me was that this book is based on research the author did at the Imperial War Museum in London. She read their personal papers--diaries, letters, memoirs, photograph albums and, because it was important to put all this into context, she also examined official unit diaries, regimental histories, and other military and historical sources. She points out that she realized social class would determine what kind of materials survive, reflecting an unevenness in whose stories were there to be told, and she was correct.
I have also been intrigued how World War I resulted in such profound social and economic changes in England. There was a grieving not only for all those young men who'd lost their lives, the women who would never marry and have children, the Lost Generation of the 1920's, but for the way of life, an innocence, that ended because of that war. In some small villages, all of the young men would join up as an enthusiastic group and within days or weeks, every one of them would die. They would be memoralized in plaques with their names in their village churches and now, almost 100 years later, those plaques are all that remains.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Stories and Context
Daniel Pink's book A Whole New Mind is all about the importance of right-brain thinking skills and one of those important right-brain skills is the ability to tell a story.
When facts become so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter more is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact. And that is the essence of the aptitude of Story - context enriched by emotion (p 103).
When facts become so widely available and instantly accessible, each one becomes less valuable. What begins to matter more is the ability to place these facts in context and to deliver them with emotional impact. And that is the essence of the aptitude of Story - context enriched by emotion (p 103).
Monday, August 4, 2008
In the past few months I've been in love with using Twitter. I've met and connected with people who are librarians and knitters and gardeners from all over the world as well as connected in a more day-to-day way with colleagues, classmates, and family members.
Twitter gives you 140 characters which has encouraged me to write a bit more succinctly although sometimes I cheat and write several messages in a row to say everything I want to say. Tiny URLs are used to allow sharing without using up all the characters. I can tell a little story. Here's an example:
"Children can't recognize common animals". http://tinyurl.com/5r4c46 I'll bet many don't realize where their food comes either
I remember a woman, upon learning we raised sheep, said "You don't eat the poor things, do you? and then chomped on her roast beef sandwich.
"Well, yes we do." I replied, while staring at her sandwich. "But we really prefer beef."
Usually I limit myself to the 140 characters and so do others. And it's also interactive. We can respond to one another's posts.
Some posts are mundane:
Oh man I'm hungry...I guess it's time for breakfast, now that it's 10.
There are some that make me wonder and want to know more:
now that was a weekend
We ask questions:
okay, for you macheads...would this week be a good time to buy a macbook or are there upgrades coming soon i should wait for?
And then there are the twitterings that sound like they could be the beginning of a story:
While I am pleased with my life at the moment, I can't shake this creeping anxiety. It's as though I'm waiting for something bad to happen.
Twitter gives you 140 characters which has encouraged me to write a bit more succinctly although sometimes I cheat and write several messages in a row to say everything I want to say. Tiny URLs are used to allow sharing without using up all the characters. I can tell a little story. Here's an example:
"Children can't recognize common animals". http://tinyurl.com/5r4c46 I'll bet many don't realize where their food comes either
I remember a woman, upon learning we raised sheep, said "You don't eat the poor things, do you? and then chomped on her roast beef sandwich.
"Well, yes we do." I replied, while staring at her sandwich. "But we really prefer beef."
Usually I limit myself to the 140 characters and so do others. And it's also interactive. We can respond to one another's posts.
Some posts are mundane:
Oh man I'm hungry...I guess it's time for breakfast, now that it's 10.
There are some that make me wonder and want to know more:
now that was a weekend
We ask questions:
okay, for you macheads...would this week be a good time to buy a macbook or are there upgrades coming soon i should wait for?
And then there are the twitterings that sound like they could be the beginning of a story:
While I am pleased with my life at the moment, I can't shake this creeping anxiety. It's as though I'm waiting for something bad to happen.
Going Back a Little
In that last post I jumped ahead in my story. I need to go back.
The idea that stories are powerful is an old one. It is what compels us to listen when someone begins "Once upon a time..." or "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....".
We are compelled to listen because it is how we human beings organize and share our experiences and create shared realities. When we hear stories we begin seeing how every person, every animal, every thing has a story and is a story and realize that that they are all interconnected. We are surrounded by stories. We are made up of stories. Murial Roukeyser, writes "the universe is made of stories, not atoms". Yes.
Stories are universal. They cross boundaries of language, culture, and age. We think in stories. We remember concepts more easily when they are presented as stories than when they are explained with logic and analysis. Stories define us. We decide what stories we tell ourselves, which stories we believe, and which we dismiss. Stories are interactive. They build our sense of community. They align thought with emotion. They show us the world in a very vivid way.
So... you ask: What do stories have to do with librarians and archivists? Everything. Everything.
The idea that stories are powerful is an old one. It is what compels us to listen when someone begins "Once upon a time..." or "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....".
We are compelled to listen because it is how we human beings organize and share our experiences and create shared realities. When we hear stories we begin seeing how every person, every animal, every thing has a story and is a story and realize that that they are all interconnected. We are surrounded by stories. We are made up of stories. Murial Roukeyser, writes "the universe is made of stories, not atoms". Yes.
Stories are universal. They cross boundaries of language, culture, and age. We think in stories. We remember concepts more easily when they are presented as stories than when they are explained with logic and analysis. Stories define us. We decide what stories we tell ourselves, which stories we believe, and which we dismiss. Stories are interactive. They build our sense of community. They align thought with emotion. They show us the world in a very vivid way.
So... you ask: What do stories have to do with librarians and archivists? Everything. Everything.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Caring for American Indian Objects
I read an article by Sherelyn Odgen* about understanding, respect, and collaboration in cultural heritage presentation for an annotated bibliography written for a class on archival preservation. Because I've been taking so many classes, I've been overwhelmed with doing the required assignments and haven't had as much time as I'd like to thoughtfully and carefully read and, more importantly, reflect upon the articles and books I've found. Well, now I do have the time. At the end of this summer term I'll only need to complete a one-credit course before I'm awarded my MLIS in December.
The book I'm beginning with is one by Sherelyn Odgen entitled Caring for American Indian Objects: A Practical and Cultural Guide. I’ve requested a copy through the library.
The point of her article was that, while conservators view cultural items as objects or artifacts which have value in and of themselves and that it is necessary that they are properly preserved so they can be seen and studied although not used or handled, Native peoples see these items as part of human society and useful to it. Cultural artifacts are not viewed merely as inanimate things; they are a part of everyday life. Native peoples believe that care and conservation is about people and human societies, not intangibles. The goal is not to preserve the item itself, but to preserve the culture the item is a part of.
Odgen notes in her article that, in response to these views, the perspective of repositories of these collections is now slowly beginning to shift from preserving and conserving single items or collections of items to preserving and conserving them as an aid in preserving cultures. That's a good thing.
* Ogden, S. (2007). Understanding, respect, and collaboration in cultural heritage preservation: A conservator's developing perspective. Library Trends, 56,(1), 275-287.
The book I'm beginning with is one by Sherelyn Odgen entitled Caring for American Indian Objects: A Practical and Cultural Guide. I’ve requested a copy through the library.
The point of her article was that, while conservators view cultural items as objects or artifacts which have value in and of themselves and that it is necessary that they are properly preserved so they can be seen and studied although not used or handled, Native peoples see these items as part of human society and useful to it. Cultural artifacts are not viewed merely as inanimate things; they are a part of everyday life. Native peoples believe that care and conservation is about people and human societies, not intangibles. The goal is not to preserve the item itself, but to preserve the culture the item is a part of.
Odgen notes in her article that, in response to these views, the perspective of repositories of these collections is now slowly beginning to shift from preserving and conserving single items or collections of items to preserving and conserving them as an aid in preserving cultures. That's a good thing.
* Ogden, S. (2007). Understanding, respect, and collaboration in cultural heritage preservation: A conservator's developing perspective. Library Trends, 56,(1), 275-287.
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