Roland Barthes doesn't want to be a literary square.

I've come to terms with Twelve Blue.

I realize M.J. meant no harm in trying to get the reader a little more involved. He placed on us responsibility that some may have been not be used to - and that's kind of uncomfortable for some. It can hinder people's enjoyment of the poem. But he was only trying to liberate us, reader ! His intentions were good ! And he wanted to get closer to us, as hypertext blurs the line between reader and writer.

Roland Barthes, (an ACS homeboy, and certainly a househould name around here) argued that the ideal text did this - achieved an unclear distinction between the author and the reader. In fact, hypertext contains many aspects of Barthes' ideal text. It links, connects, allows information to be presented in a crazy ordder. It is a "galaxy of signifiers".

Woa. Deep.

He wasn't down with readerly texts, (commonly associated with lame classical texts. I don't think they're lame, but I reckon Barthes did), texts presented in linear ways, traditional texts adhereing to the status quo. He even went as far as to say that they supported the commercial values of the literary establishment.

Well isn't Barthes radical? I want to see him and Walter Ong fight.

On the other hand, a writerly text allows the reader to take control of the text. We construct our own meaning, as each reader is a subjective soul interpreting the text however they want. Twelve Blue is a writerly text, freeing the passive reader from the shackles of his own! small! mind!

Roland Barthes just wants to do what he wants. From this perspective, I can appreciate Twelve Blue and what it is trying to achieve - top knotch readers who can actively get down with text in a subjective, personalized way. Barthes just wanted us to not be literary squares, and instead, be our own literary hero's.

I feel closer to Michael Joyce already ...