“April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain.”
The possibilities for creating next generation eBooks out of classic works, such as Ulysses or The Iliad, is tremendous. Such texts can be challenging for many reasons; they can have multiple layers of meaning that are difficult to tease out, can reference cultural touchstones that are out of date, and frankly can be dry without having a great teacher to guide you. These are texts that literally require the reader to struggle with them in order to unlock their material.
Next generation eBooks can be thought of as marginalia on steroids
There is a long tradition of marginalia to help readers with these books, such as footnotes, separate helper texts containing commentaries, other readers scribbling notes into the margins, and more. Next generation eBooks can be thought of as marginalia on steroids: you are no longer constrained by a tiny margin to fit a footnote, or just static text. You don’t have to literally reference another book every other sentence to help you unlock things, such as needed for Ulysses; advanced commentaries can be interleaved into the digital eBook itself, whether through audio, video, or even stretch text.
One of my favorite examples of a great next generation classic is Touch Press' The Waste Land.
The Waste Land, by T.S. Eliot, is considered one of the twentieth centuries most important poems. It's a beautiful, haunting poem that explores how meaning can be made in the modern world after the shattering effects of World War I.
This is a challenging work of art, and Touch Press' version of The Waste Land brilliantly guides the reader through these challenges.
As you will see in the video I recorded below, in the Touch Press version of The Waste Land you can hear audio voice overs of the poem itself, including ‘marginalia on steroids’ in the gutter to help you understand what you are reading. There's also a bunch of other great material in here:
Frankly, I think this is the new standard that digital editions of humanities classics should follow. Touch Press' The Waste Land has spoiled me into wanting this for all classics.
I wish all eBook versions of classic works had such beautiful enhancements to make them easier and more enjoyable to understand and experience. Frankly, I think this is the new standard that digital editions of humanities classics should follow. Touch Press' The Waste Land has spoiled me into wanting this for all classics; I now actively seek out eBook editions of challenging texts like this rather than their print counterparts. If only all publishers created digital editions they were truly proud of that exhibited as much care as this app.
Find Touch Press' The Waste Land on iTunes.
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Please note that this is my personal blog — the views expressed on these pages are mine alone and not those of my employer.