Twine Poetry

Within this twine poem, I choose to focus almost entirely on text. The poem is an original, that is best read out loud. I deliberately choose not use sound or image so as not to pull the reader from the textual experience. The words are what create the image and meaning. I intentionally choose specific words as my linking words so that the programed blue link color would draw attention to that specific word. I wanted those highlighted words to serve as anchors for the meaning of the poem. The pacing of the poem is also regulated by how much text appears on a page at a time and when it appears on said page. I purposefully selected descriptive and visual simulative words so that the reader could easily identify and visualize the poem without having to actually see anything it describes. Overall, I tied to use the built-in function and design of Twine to create a simple piece that holds its weight in the words more than anything else.

My decision to do so drew from several of the other media and literature we have experienced in class. In Janet Murray’s book chapter, entitled “Immersion,’’ she discusses several techniques to be considered in creating an immersive media piece. One such technique was the need to regulate arousal. This element concerns itself with the level of stimulus we receive from a mediated experience. Too much, and the participator can be overwhelmed and pull themselves out of the immersion; too little, and the participator will become bored and never reach immersion. I related this to the one extensive interaction we had with a Twine Poem, “Howling Dogs.” I truly enjoyed that experience. I felt completely absorbed in the story to the point that I was anxious and stressed to solve the mystery of how to escape the “room” being described. This was created chiefly through only textual elements. There were a few images connected to certain words, of the which the first several times caused a sense of removal from the flow of the story. I found myself skipping over those images really quickly as the story continued. Due to this experience, when creating my own Twine Poem, I decided to stick only to text. Overall, I am happy with the result. 

Emotional Entrenching


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