Every night, the village people gathered around the fire and told stories. Tales were told of the strange lands, of heroes and mythical creatures, or of everyday happenings—no tale was too small or too great for the gathering. This tradition bred many great story tellers, but one in particular could create whole universes with his words and hold the attention of even the most restless mind. Let’s call him Tom. At this time, Tom was writing a story that was quite different from those he usually told, and that made him nervous.

One particular night, a stranger joined the villagers around the fire and asked them to entertain him with tales. He promised a wonderful prize to the person who could tell the best story. At the end of the night, the stranger awarded Tom a small flask as his prize for the evening’s best tale. The stranger told the storyteller that the contents of the flask were made with the world’s finest ingredients, and that it would surely be the best thing that he had ever tasted.

Tom drank from the flask the next day, enjoying the taste of the concoction immensely.

“Today is going to be a great day,” he said.

What he didn’t know was that the stranger had accidentally given him a Truth Serum, which rendered everything Tom said true. And so, Tom had a great day.

Because things were going so smoothly that day, Tom decided that he would tell his new story at that night’s fire.

It was a story full of darkness, violence, and tragedy. His audience was rightfully fearful, but Tom had unwittingly released all of these awful elements unto the world. Little did he know, that once spoken aloud, the words would come true.

So beware, once a story is told, it can never be taken back.

(It also wouldn’t hurt to be wary of drinks given to you from strangers.)

* * *

Having written the story out first, it was interesting to see what alterations were made when telling the story. I found that the way I told the story was quite a bit more informal, and I definitely put emphasis in certain places of the story that don’t come across in print. My creative writing teacher emphasized the way one tells a story is just as important as the contents of the story.

Depending on where I was when I told the story, I added or took away details from the narrative. I told this story on two separate occasions, once when I was walking home with a friend and another when I was having drinks. It was late and dark when we were walking home and the story carried a more ominous tone. The second time I told the story, it was quite lighthearted and a bit goofy. I was interrupted a few times and asked questions to clarify certain parts of the story.

It’s an interesting concept that stories do not belong to the person who created them. Once put out into the world, people of all backgrounds will derive meaning from them regardless of the intent of the author. Stories have the ability to change people, and vice versa.

Works Cited

King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Peterbough: Anansi Press. 2003. Print.

This American Life. “David Rakoff in “This American Life: The Invisible Made Visible”” NPR, National Public Radio. Web. 30 May 2016.

Zak, Paul J. “How Stories Change the Brain.” 17 Dec 2013. The Greater Good Science Center. University of California, Berkeley. Web. 30 May 2016.

1.2.7 “At the beginning of this lesson I pointed to the idea that technological advances in communication tools have been part of the impetus to rethink the divisive and hierarchical categorizing of literature and orality, and suggested that this is happening for a number of reasons.  I’d like you to consider two aspects of digital literature: 1) social media tools that enable widespread publication, without publishers, and 2) Hypertext, which is the name for the text that lies beyond the text you are reading, until you click. How do you think these capabilities might be impacting literature and story?”

I remember perusing encyclopedias and textbooks while doing research in my former years of education, but this has been happening less and less with the rise of reputable sources on the Internet. Digital literature has vastly changed the way I approach the consumption and creation of content, and I don’t think the impact and influence of the Web as a platform is considered enough.

History suggests that literacy was developed from orality and is therefore a superior mode of communication (Carlson 45). The written word enabled oral histories to be passed down and examined without a narrator. The written form exudes a sense of permanence that was not present with oral storytelling. Advances in technology enable the recording of oral storytelling methods, thus subverting the notion that written records are superior for their permanence. The Web is a space that both supports and inverts the notion of permanence. It is often said that once something exists on the Internet, it is really difficult to get it back. Because content is can be spread on such a large scale, often content or information cannot be taken back. However, content can often be edited and added to by different people outside of the creator’s intentions. In this sense, the content is subject to change, and possesses a fluid nature.

“[T]he computer does not initiate the dominance of one media form over another, but rather encourages their fusion within the pluralistic realm of the “global village.” -Courtney MacNeil

The Web exists as a platform that offers media more complex than the traditional dichotomy of the written and verbal word, transcending implied hierarchies to create a space where different media can co-exist. The seemingly unlimited space on the Web allow these forms to work with one another without being a threat to other’s existence. The Internet is a space of collaboration and community more akin to communal storytelling that the interaction of an individual with a piece of text. Many content creators encourage dialogue with their audience with the intention of building and maintaining a community.

Traditional publication relied on aspects such as writing ability, reputation, and industry connections. The ability to publish on the web has made public the writing of people who have not traditionally had access to these resources. The voices of the disadvantaged or minority groups can be accessed alongside those who have traditionally dominated the public domain. The freedom of publication transcends the hierarchy between people of different nationalities, affluence, age groups, and origins.

Orality has a connection to cultural knowledge and a collective memory that is similar to the way that hyperlinking connects texts to create communal knowledge. Hyperlinking gives the reader the freedom to explore related topics to encourage a broader reading, or providing additional information for more in-depth understanding. Electronic structures much less rigid in organization, and allow for multiple forms of organization depending on preference. Digital literature diminishes the sense of closure that arose from the invention of print (Bolter 79).

Additionally, the ability for the public to comment on articles in certain domains allows for a level of interactivity that was unavailable to traditional text-based literature. This allows for the writer to be challenged by the public, something more common in oral storytelling than in the written word. The increased interactivity of the online format encourages encourages reflection and discussion that might not be offered in traditional fields of study. It provides a safe place for marginalized voices to come forward and share their experiences. Further, the reader has more responsibility than ever to seek out these narratives because they are so readily available.

Works Cited:

Bolter, Jay David. Writing Space: The Computer, Hypertext and the History of Writing. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum, 1991.

Carlson, Keith Thor. “Orality about Literacy: The ‘Black and White’ of Salish History.” Orality and Literacy: Reflections Across Disciplines. University of Toronto Press, 2011. 43-69. JSTOR. Web.

Datafloq. “Internet of Things.” Graphic. Web.

MacNeil, Courtney. “orality.” The Chicago School of Media Theory: University of Chicago, Winter 2007. Web. https://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/mediatheory/keywords/orality/

“Reconciliation. . . towards a new relationship.” Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Web.

Zipes, Jack. “The Cultural Evolution of Storytelling and Fairy Tales: Human Communication and Memetics.” The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre. Princeton University Press, 2012. JSTOR. Web. press.princeton.edu/chapters/s9676.pdf

This is a blog created for ENGL470. The course looks to examine European and Indigenous narratives in Canadian literature, and how they contribute to the notion of identity.

My name is Julia Wong, and I am pursuing a BA at UBC with a major in English Literature and a minor in Visual Arts. When I am not holed up in one of Vancouver’s many cafes, one can assume that I am lost out in the BC wilderness.

As I begin to travel more, I am often confronted with the task of presenting my personal concept of the Canadian identity. This has proved difficult, as there seems to be a lack of a fixed definition of nationalism. However, the fluidity in our identity allows for a constant re-evaluation of what it means to be Canadian- one that allows for reflection and self-criticism.

Although I have taken a Canadian literature class in the past, I am sorry to say that my experience with Indigenous literature traditions are few and far between. Though this class has exposed me to the voices of Canadian authors, like the multi-disciplinary artist Douglas Coupland and the poet Eve Joseph, I am interested in examining the narratives we choose to canonize and of the voices of minorities that may not exist in mainstream media. I believe we have a responsibility towards an accurate representation of these narratives, especially with such a large collection of native art at the Museum of Anthropology on campus. I look forward to debunking stereotypes, examining power relations and notions of privilege, and gaining a more nuanced understanding of Canadian identity, beyond the safe and idyllic

This will be my first online course, and I am interested to see how the web serves and influences the way information is delivered and consumed. I hope that this task of weekly blogging helps my writing become increasingly refined and specific. As Canadian poet Anne Carson says on writing, “every accuracy has to be invented”.

-j

Works Cited

Anderson, Sam. “The Inscrutable Brilliance of Anne Carson” The New York Times Magazine. 14 Mar. 2013. Web. 15 May 2016.

Coupland, Douglas. “What is the Future of Art?” Artsy. 1 Mar. 2016. Web. 15 May 2016.

Nguyen, Danton. “Untitled”, 2015. 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 May 2016.

Tregebov, Rhea. “Review: The Secret Signature of Things” The Globe and Mail. 20 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 May 2016.