My initial response to e-poetry based on the pieces assigned so far is neutral. I saw how the use of visual and interactive aids to a poet's words could be useful; however, I also saw how it could fail miserably. At first, I was expecting only movies, and it surprised me that technology could be so vast in its capabilities.
“The Last Cigarette” did not give me hope for e-poetry. I was not a fan of the poetry itself, nor the audio reading of it. The imagery wasn’t subtle or symbolic at all. It was simply depicting whatever the author was describing at the time, put into a Quicktime video. Even though I thought that this poem wasn’t to my taste, I feel that it is better in text form than in a video.
“Nine” was a well-written poem, and I enjoyed the effort I put in to reach some kind of meaning to this poem. After clicking and holding as well as dragging, I was stuck reading it over and over again. “Nine” was extremely artistic in its endeavors. It seems as though the author put his life into the poem; visually, as well as lyrically.
I was not a fan of “Mermaids.” The effort that I had to put in to read this poem far outreaches what I accomplished after reading it. It was hard to interact with, especially because of the whole upside-down problem that I encountered. It was a one-verse poem that took me a solid couple of minutes to figure out and read, in addition to disappointing me somewhat.
Yes, e-poetry can be used to help readers interact and get more out of poetry, but it can also disengage and distract the reader.
I think that thinking of the electronic as being as "aid" to the text is limiting. The point may not always be to "help" readers. Sometimes distraction is part of how the poem means. As we move forward, try to see the electronic elements as meaningful rather than helpful.
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