aisyalam

As it turns out, not only is the programme (lecture) tomorrow happening, but it is somewhat of a major event on campus, for which posters have been made and which all Delta (senior) students of the FCM must attend.

This morning’s lecture went well, even if it was not wildly attended (maybe 40-50 at peak). The best part for me was the discussion that followed, in which students were mostly interested in comparing written/printed poetry (which they perceived as being more accessible to the public) with the new forms I have been promoting. I explained that both could exist, in fact that the new was a subset of the old. I used the durian poem as an example of how I could write something, but that my own sentiments could possibly be expressed better digitally. At the very least, they were entertained by encountering my novel (yet still unfinished) work about the fruit, which served to propel further the discussion. The rest of the day (after a lunch of nasi ayam) was spent laboring intensely over tomorrow’s presentation. It is still unfinished, but since the session isn’t until one o’clock tomorrow afternoon, I’ll have a couple of hours (after seeing Stella run her first cross-country race in the early a.m.) to finish it up. I’ll be presenting fewer works (perhaps 6-8), and less history, but more ideas. Since the topic is “Poetic Possibilities for E-Texts” I’m fine with discussing what the possibilities are instead of going over everything that has already transpired. However, that means unlike the past few lectures, I don’t have a lot of eye candy for the audience. I’ll try to figure something out so that a reasonable, engaging, presentation transpires.

Otherwise, not much to tell besides that an MMU FCM colleague named Forest stopped by my office with a beautiful handmade (handsewn, handmade paper) book, seeking advice on how to transform it into an electronic text. I think this will interesting project to be a consultant on, so we made a plan to meet on Friday morning.