Forgetfulness

"This piece is really exciting, because it shows a piece of poetry born in the print world making the transition into the digital world. It is work like this that makes me say not all electronic literature originates in a digital environment. This piece originated in the print world, but has become something different and extraordinary in the digital world.

As a long time fan of Denise Duhamel I was first exposed to this piece as 'Mobius Strip: Forgetfulness' from her 2005 collection 'Two and Two'. Despite the directions in the back of the book I still wasn't sure what a mobius strip was. The directions called for me to take scissors to the pages of the book, but being a severe bibliophile that simply wasn't an option. I lived in my state of ignorance until Duhamel came to read at Virginia Tech last November. She brought a copy of the poem in its mobius strip form and read from it. The mobius strip is like an infinity sign and the idea behind using it as a poetic form is that the poem has no true beginning or end. The reader can enter the loop at any point and exit it at any point and come away with something. The print environment of 'Two and Two' lacked the dimensions to allow the poem to truly be read in this [fashion]. Books require the poem to have a first and last line.

By pairing Duhamel's words with the technical artistry of Ico Bukvic the poet's original visions [sic] has been brought to life. Well, that isn't entirely true, I haven't asked Denise this, but I don't think she had music in her head for this poem, so Ico has brought an additional level to the experience with the addition of his original composition, which augments the reading of the poem.

I believe this type of collaboration is truly one of the very exciting aspects of electronic literature. It allows writers who have been confined to the page to break free and share their work in ways previously not possible." -- From The New River Journal, Robert Walker, Managing Editor, Spring 2009