We want to make sense of nonsense; we strive for meaning. Usually, if a sentence uses the correct syntax, you will accept it and try to understand the deeper meaning. The Jabberwocky has been translated into so many languages simply because its structure is intact: 'Twas _{weather or time}__ and the __{adjective}___{plural noun}__ did ___{verb}." is a familiar rythym to it--a slightly old fashioned, poetic entry--perhaps "Twas evening and the peaceful doves did coo." We can substitute pretty much any word in this structure and the mind will make what sense of it it can.
There are a variety of ways to use random elements in elit. One of these is to create a universe or a set of words that can be put together randomly. These can be generative--where the computer pieces together a set of author-defined words or can be a series of constantly replaced words or the user can choose what words to fit in the blank space.
Exploration
These generated works can have a broad base of possibilities (think about Borges' description of a few monkeys typing for eternity--they are generating works on their 24 letter typewriters) or a narrow range (the exercise below has only a few possibilities as it is constrained to a few pairs of words).
Neil Hennessy's Jabber engine (2001) takes the former approach by generating "words" from letters on the screen. Works can increase their ranges by asking--and even demanding--user input into their database of words.
Lewis LaCook's King's Woods (2007) presents text and figures randomly and generates text through such user input as well as the dynamic changes in outside web sites.
Peter Howard's Haiku Generator (2001) uses sets of vocabulary to automatically create haikus from one of six sets of pre-set vocabularies--some of which make profound sense and others which just teeter on the edge between sense and nonsense. Look at his pre-sets (noir, silly, standard, erotic). Do you agree with these characterisations? How do the vocabularies differ? How would you build something like this.
Other works incorporate random links into an already composed elit piece. These random links add to the mood of the piece.
War Games--Catch The LandMine!! is run from a single anchor which generates a random node when triggered, evoking the game quality of the work and the random nature of land mine atrocities: you never know when you will hit one or what will happen if you do.
Him also serves random content. But Him provides five choices for the random selection, leading the reader to speculate on the algorithms behind the content serving.
Exercise: Passing Your Constraints
1) Generating random words
There are two sentences in this work, each curved around each other to evoke a question/response or call/response image. Each of these sentences has three blanks, filled in by content word sets. These blanks can also be links, so that when one content word is clicked on, its paired content word appears in the opposite sentence—and the content word clicked on remains the same. Create a generator: a work that either scrolls the word sets in the sentence or that chooses a random word from the word sets or where the user can drag words from the word sets to the sentences.
Who do the _1 noun__ touch after their __2 noun___ have passed __3 prepositional phrase____?
The __4 noun_ of the _5 noun___ leads me _6 prepositional phrase__
3 and 6 {behind them, home}, {by, down into your soul’s depths}, {before them, where the children still play}, {between them, in your embrace}, {beyond them, away from the tortures in my soul}
Sample readings from the generator:
Who do the stones touch after their lives have passed beyond them? / The dancing of the ripened fields leads me in your embrace.
Who do the deer touch after their paths have passed by? / The sighing of the undergrowth leads me down into your soul's depths.
Experiment: On Your Own
Try some writing exercises on your own to generate a world of text, images, or sound that can come together in random ways.
Solitaire
Cut outs
Take a magazine and cut out pieces of text and images.
Glue the cut outs onto a hard cover backing so they are easier to grab.
Put these in a paper bag and select several--without looking.
Spread these across a table. (How does the context change the meaning of these pieces?)
Take another few pieces and add them to your arrangement.
Fill in the blanks This is somewhat like the Mad Libs, only
you provide both the sentence and the blanks.
Write a series of sentences on a large piece of paper and cut out each noun (e.g., ____ threw the ____ over the wall.).
Glue the blanked out sentences and the nouns to a hard cover backing so they are easier to handle.
Put the nouns face side down and shuffle them.
Put each noun into one of the blanks--face down.
Turn over the nouns.
Random links
Use an exercise you have generated elsewhere.
If this is on paper, put it up as a dart board. During a "reading," throw darts at the board and read the entry.
If this is electronic, develop a random link factor and incorporate it into your work. Then read your work using only this random factor.
Team sport
Deck of cards You can also make a deck of cards for solitaire, but playing this game with others is more challenging.
Take a regular deck of cards and glue texts, pictures, etc. on the front (or the back).
Deal the cards -- solitaire will work, but it is more fun with a couple of players.
Arrange the cards that you have.
Rearrange the other player's cards, and let them rearrange yours.
Rounds
With more players, this will take longer, but you will have a richer selection of materials.
Write one sentence for every player on a separate piece of paper (if there are 3 players, write 3 sentences, etc.)
Cut out or draw a picture for every player.
Glue these to a hard cover backing to preserve them.
Hand one sentence and one picture to each player (so if there are 3 players, then you will have 6 elements to work with).
Arrange your content in different orders.
You can add sounds as well-choose which sound would go with what piece or choose a music loop that would play for the entire piece.
Exchange: Share Your Creations
Share your work in person Place all of your materials face down and have your reader pick up pieces to read and paste together a text. You might think about placement--what should be next to what.
Share your work online There are many ways to present your randomly generated text. You can video tape a reading; however, readings don't really show the range of possibilities inherent in your randomly generated world. It is better to use a software. These suggestions assume you know the software--if you don't, partner with someone who does.
Create generators for your materials. Use existing generators.
Use Flash--you can put an image on a page and add invisible buttons. Deena Larsen's Carving in Possibilities does this. Add a text on the mouseover stage of each button. To get an image to change, add two layers. On the first layer, put the beginning image with an opacity of 100 on the first frame and with an opacity of 0 on the last frame. Do an image morph. On the second layer, put the end image with an opacity of 0 on the first frame and with an opacity of 100 on the last frame. Do an image morph. Thus, the beginning image fades out while the end image fades in.
We'd love to show your work--either send it or send a URL for your work here to be a part of this site.
