Literature has always created a sense of universal belonging -- the relevant characters and plots it introduces to us, the themes it provides, the emotions it evokes... it all culminates to make each individual reader understand that they are part of something bigger than themselves. 

But words on a page can only go so far.

I had little to no expectation of what I would learn coming in to English 366H: Literature and the Other Arts (perhaps because the title of the class was so intriguingly vague), but over the course of this semester I have gained an in depth understanding of just how much incorporating sonic and visual elements can boost literature. In a world where technological innovations are furiously gaining favor and old-fashioned fads are being put on the back burner, I felt that this class was my first real look into the future of how literature will be studied and understood. 

Like all change, the challenge of translating messages from paper to PC didn't come easy. I've found that when it comes to literature, I prefer to stick to traditional roots (I still insist on buying a paperback over downloading a PDF to my Kindle). This class forced me to go outside of my comfort zone and analyze literature from a fresh and unfamiliar perspective. Though every new assignment was more complex and vague than the last, I realized that the aim of each assignment was unchanging. Each composition was the same in the idea that sonic and visual elements plucked a message, a unity, a universal connection from literature that words alone could never create. And it doesn't stop there. With composing moves, sonic and visual elements provided the opportunity to explore new avenues, layer messages and ideas, and create unique analyses that can't be constricted to the confines of an 8"x11" paper. 

The best part? I haven't stopped learning from the day class began. Every assignment is a new challenge, a new obstacle to tackle. I haven't mastered every program or composing move, and I'm okay with that. That's the point. Just like technology, literature is an organic substance that should always be changing and developing and open to reinterpretation. I am so glad to be part of a class that experienced the marriage of the two firsthand.

Below you will find a table of contents of the work I completed (in chronological order) over the course of this semester. I challenge you, the viewer, to consider how the sonic and/or visual elements in each piece add a new dimension to the literary analysis. Feel free to check out my reflection on each page to get an inside look at my goal for each piece and the roadblocks (and successes) I realized along the way.

I. Soundlist

II. Audio Essay

III. Improv E-Poem

IV. Edited E-Poem

V. The Road Video

VI. Teaching With Sound