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Norman Mailer: Works and Days/Project Introduction: Difference between revisions
Norman Mailer: Works and Days/Project Introduction (view source)
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{{byline|last=Lucas|first=Gerald R.}} | {{byline|last=Lucas|first=Gerald R.}} | ||
{{dc|dc=I|n the Spring of 2014, [[Mike Lennon]] and I had lunch}} at a small café in Atlanta and talked about the future.{{refn|This introduction was originally written for the first version of ''W&D'' that was implemented on a Wordpress installation.}} | |||
I had been acting as the voice and advocate of the digital life of the [[Norman Mailer Society]] since I joined in 2006. Even before that, my interests and research were catalyzed by the nascent digital world. My graduate work centered on the pinnacle of print culture — literary studies — but simultaneously I dabbled in the revolutionary world of the digital. I spent frustrating hours trying to make my university network account work on my ancient [[w:Macintosh Classic|Macintosh Classic]] through its 28.8K dial-up connection — fast for the early nineties. My first reaches through cyberspace were limited to a text-based terminal, through which I was introduced to the robust powers of [[w:UNIX]] that seemed light-years behind my Mac’s GUI, yet somehow much stronger, like the difference between a Toyota Tercel and a Mercedes diesel sedan. After earning my M.A., my upgraded 56K modem and the university’s new [[w:Point-to-Point Protocol|Point-to-Point Protocol]] (PPP) fit the Internet to my Mac. [[w:Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]] suddenly opened up my small studio apartment to the World Wide Web and its promise, and I have never looked back. | I had been acting as the voice and advocate of the digital life of the [[Norman Mailer Society]] since I joined in 2006. Even before that, my interests and research were catalyzed by the nascent digital world. My graduate work centered on the pinnacle of print culture — literary studies — but simultaneously I dabbled in the revolutionary world of the digital. I spent frustrating hours trying to make my university network account work on my ancient [[w:Macintosh Classic|Macintosh Classic]] through its 28.8K dial-up connection — fast for the early nineties. My first reaches through cyberspace were limited to a text-based terminal, through which I was introduced to the robust powers of [[w:UNIX]] that seemed light-years behind my Mac’s GUI, yet somehow much stronger, like the difference between a Toyota Tercel and a Mercedes diesel sedan. After earning my M.A., my upgraded 56K modem and the university’s new [[w:Point-to-Point Protocol|Point-to-Point Protocol]] (PPP) fit the Internet to my Mac. [[w:Mosaic (web browser)|Mosaic]] suddenly opened up my small studio apartment to the World Wide Web and its promise, and I have never looked back. | ||
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One advantage that the digital bibliography has over print is space. Since storing bits is inexpensive and virtually effortless, bibliographies should not only be annotated, but also contain the full text of the resource whenever possible. As you can imagine, many of the later entries may also be found online; when they are, I have linked to them and tagged the entry with “fulltext.” While the site has no full-text content of its own, this could change if content becomes available to fit the format. | One advantage that the digital bibliography has over print is space. Since storing bits is inexpensive and virtually effortless, bibliographies should not only be annotated, but also contain the full text of the resource whenever possible. As you can imagine, many of the later entries may also be found online; when they are, I have linked to them and tagged the entry with “fulltext.” While the site has no full-text content of its own, this could change if content becomes available to fit the format. | ||
Similarly, while Mike’s print version contains images, many more have been included in the digital ''W&D''. In most cases these have been supplied by Mike Lennon and graciously scanned and uploaded by Donna Lennon. Many of the images contain notes from Mailer and his signature, so they are truly unique to the project. All entries that contain images are tagged with | Similarly, while Mike’s print version contains images, many more have been included in the digital ''W&D''. In most cases these have been supplied by Mike Lennon and graciously scanned and uploaded by Donna Lennon. Many of the images contain notes from Mailer and his signature, so they are truly unique to the project. All entries that contain images are tagged with “image.” Hopefully we will continue to add more. | ||
What have I missed? | What have I missed? I’d love your feedback — particularly if you’re a member of the [[Norman Mailer Society|Society]], a Digital Humanist, or a Mailer researcher. So hit me up by leaving a note on my talk page. As of July 1, 2015, we have released the beta version of ''W&D'' for feedback. We hope to have version 1.0 published by this fall’s Conference of the Norman Mailer Society in Provincetown. Consider, then, this document as also a beta, in that it will likely be updated as we make changes and updates to the project. | ||
== | {{Notes|title=note|width=60em}} | ||
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