The Flight of A821: Dearchiving The Proceedings of a Birdsong

"The Flight of A821: Dearchiving the proceedings of a Birdsong" is "a stunning piece of literary criticism that suggests the unusual physical form of the Emily Dickinson poem labeled A821 (two torn envelope flaps fastened to a third piece of paper with a pin) implies it should be read as a hypertext. Werner's open-work enacts this interpretation by animating the image of Dickinson's poem, visualizing it in various spatial orientations that make real to the reader how the poem operates in a literal sense. Moreover, there is a synergistic relation between Werner's textual practices and her critical insight into Dickinson's text. Creating her open-work as a hypertext clearly contributed to her critical understanding of the poem, a conjunction underscored in her open-work by visually representing links as the straight pin Dickinson used to fasten her textual fragments together." -- Talan Memmot, Commentary, The Progressive Dinner Party