Abstract

Language itself is a technology, and the advent of each major technology of language transmission (from the alphabet to the printing press to the Internet) has changed the range of speaker-audience dynamics which are the starting point for all creative writing. In this thesis, a writer, armed only with his blog archives and a smattering of John Tenniel illustrations, guides the curious reader through various issues raised by creative writing in the blog form. Topics discussed include self-presentation, the juxtaposed brevity and expansiveness of online texts, nonlinear reading, alternative models for revision, the literary possibilities of the hyperlink, speaker-audience-time relationships in online settings, the future of ephemerality, the possibility of digital street theatre, and croquet with live balls and sticks. Also discussed are: the end of the world, the Partition of India, the political ramifications of labels replacing folders, my great-aunt's death, Wynton Marsalis, Jewish Vikings, democracy in Kahanistan, Saparmurat Niyazov, Elvis Costello, Sheikh Hasina, and the virtues of walking to church. This thesis also contains several introductions, an acknowledgements page, and more chapters than I care to count. A five-dollar bill may or may not be hidden between the digital pages of this thesis.

Degree

MFA

College and Department

Humanities; English

Rights

http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/