Rebooting Electronic Literature: Documenting Pre-Web Born Digital Media

Photos of Mary-Kim Arnold's "Lust"




Folio, Front
The folio measures 6” x 9” in size and is made of a faded blue jean color, heavy card stock with black and white images and text printed in ink. The top of the folio contains the information on the publishing series The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext. The publishing series text is black, centered, serif font, underlined in a 1-pixel white line, and measures 5 10/16” x 10/16”. The location of the publishing series text is 1/16” left, 4/16” top, 3/16” right, and 1/16” bottom to the line. The details of the series is set underneath the white underline and separated into two sections and two lines. The first set of series text is white, aligned left, and serif font. Line one reads: “Volume 1, Number 2” and line two reads: “Winter, 1994”. The second set of series text is white, aligned right, and serif font. Line one reads: “for Macintosh & Windows” and line two reads: “$19.95”. Between the last line of the left and right series text is a white 1-pixel line that extends to approximately 1/16” from both of the line twos.

The title "Lust", a review of the title, and the author’s name is set underneath the publishing information and covers approximately one fourth of the page. The letter “L” of the title text is black, centered with the name, a cursive font and measures 1 11/16” x 1 5/16”. The location of the letter “L” is 3/16” bottom to author’s name, 1 6/16” left, 2/16” top, and 1/16” right to the tittle text. The title text “ust” is black, centered, and serif font, and measures 11/16” x 7/16”. The location of the title text is centered to the letter “L”. The review of the title is black, sans-serif font, left aligned, separated into two lines, and measures 2” x 6/16”. Line one reads: “’A miniature gem’” and line two reads: “—The New York Times”. The location of the review is 3/16” bottom to the author’s name, 4/16” left to the letter “L”, 2/16” top, and 1” right. The author’s name “Mary-Kim Arnold” is white, serif font, centered, and measures 4 2/16” x 5/16”. The location of the author’s name is 1/16” bottom, 15/16” left, 3/16” top, and 15/16” right.

The ASCII art is set underneath the author’s name and covers the center of the folio with two images of people’s eyes and lines. The first ASCII art of eyes measures 9/16” x 1 1/16” and shows a person’s eye and long nose. The location of the first ASCII art is 1 3/16” bottom, 1” left, 1” top, and 4 7/16” right. The second ASCII art of eyes measures 1 ¾” x 13/16” and shows a person’s eyes looking to the right while facing left. The location of the second ASCII art is 2” bottom, 3 ½” left, 6/16” top, and 11/16” right. The ASCII line art is two white lines that are made up of thin and thick bars that make it look like it is winding behind the ASCII art of eyes and is located between 4/16” bottom, 4/16” left, 1/16” top, and 7/16” right. 

The second author’s name, title "I HAVE SAID NOTHING", a review of the title is set underneath the ASCII art and covers less than one fourth of the page. The author’s name “J. YELLOWLEES DOUGLAS” is white, serif font, centered, and measures 5 7/16” x 6/16”. The location of the author’s name is 2/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 3/16” top, and 3/16” right. The second title text is black, centered, sans-serif font, and measures 4 15/16” x 7/16”. The location of the second title is 2/16” bottom, ½” left, 2/16” top, and ½” right. The review of the second title is black, sans-serif font, left aligned, separated into three lines, and measures 3 10/16” x 10/16”. Line one reads: “’Superb, crystalline, finely balanced”, line two reads: “between savagery and sympathy”, and line three reads: “Stuart Moulthrop, author of Victory Garden”. The location of the review is 4/16” bottom, 1 2/16” left, 2/16” top, and 1 3/16” right.

The border is set underneath the second review and separates a review about Eastgate Systems, Inc.. The 1-2 pixel border is white, centered, and measures 5 10/16” across. The review of Eastgate Systems is white, sans-serif font, centered, separated into three lines, and measures 5 6/16” x 8/16”. Line one reads: “Eastgate is starting to deploy some of the most interesting voices”, line two reads: “rising out of the literary terrain. Buy in now!”, and line three reads: “—Mark Amerika, author of The Kafka Chronicles”.



Folio, Back
The folio measures 6” x 9” in size and is made of a faded blue jean color, heavy card stock with black and white images and text printed in ink. The top of the folio contains the information on the publishing series The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext. The publishing series text is left aligned, black, serif font, underlined in a 1-pixel white line, and located at 8 5/16” bottom, 2/16” left, 1/4” top, and 2 1/16” right. The series details are underneath the white underline and separated into two sections. The first section is aligned left, white, serif font, and located at 8 2/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 11/16” top, and 4 10/16” right. The first section reads: “Volume 1, Number 2”. The second section is white, aligned right, serif font, and is located at 8 5/16” bottom, 3 3/16” left, 11/16” top, and 2 1/16” right. The second section reads: “Winter, 1994”. 

The author’s name, the title "Lust", and ASCII art is underneath the publishing series information. The author’s name “Mary-Kim Arnold” is left aligned, white, serif font, and located at 7 13/16” bottom, 3/16” right, 14/16” top, and 2 14/16” right. The title is left aligned, black, sans-serif font, and is located at 7 7/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 1 ¼” top, and 5 1/16” right. The ASCII art is an image of two white lines that are made up of thin and thick bars that make it look like it is winding. The ASCII art measures approximately 1 13/16” x 1 5/16” and is located 7 6/16” bottom, 4” left, 5/16” top, and 2/16” right.

The synopsis and reviews of "Lust" are underneath the title of the work and covers over one fourth of the page. The synopsis of Lust is left aligned, white, sans-serif font, and separated into two sections. Section one of the synopsis contains seven lines and is located at 6 5/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 1 10/16” top, and 3/16” right. Line one reads: “In the recombinations and dense linkage of its nodes, the reader of Lust encounters violent”, line two reads: “scenes, a sequence of lovers, the creation and loss of family, blood, and screaming. These”, line three reads: “sequences—and their meanings—depend on the reader’s choices. On writing Lust Mary-Kim”, line four reads: “Arnold says, ‘This experience has been a tremendous one for me, personally, academically, psy-“, line five reads: “chologically, maybe even sexually. In any event, this medium has been the most fertile, flexible,”, line six reads: giving, nurturing place I have ever found to write in, to be in, to share in.’ This bold work”, and line seven reads: “stretches to the limits of hypertext, to its advantage.

The reviews of Lust are between the first and second section of the synopsis. The reviews are centered, white, sans-serif font, and separated into two sections. Section one of the reviews contains two lines and are located at 6” bottom, 6/16” left, 2 12/16” top, and 6/16” left. Line one reads: “’Uniquely a hypertext, Lust conjures the thing itself and its seductive terrors by presenting fragments of its” and line two reads: “consequences. It conjures a feast from the leftovers.’”. Section two of the reviews contains four lines and are located at 5 ½” bottom, 6/16” left, 3 1/16” top, and 6/16” right. Line one reads: “’A compact and sensual tale, Mary-Kim Arnold’s "Lust" is always on the verge of exploding into sex, violence”, line two reads: “and murder. Spanning the distance between prose fiction and poetry, Lust undresses the resonances of emo-“, line three reads: “tionally loaded words and phrases, revealing unspoken moments, fragments of memory, and muffled”, and line four reads: “screams.’—Kathryn Cramer, author of In Small & Large Pieces”.

Section two of the synopsis contains four lines and is located at 4 13/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 3 10/16” top, and ¼” right. Line one reads: “Mary-Kim Arnold live in Providence, Rhode Island, with her husband, Brook Connor, and two”, line two reads: “black and white cats, Simon and Schuster, a bunny named Harper, and an iguana named”, line three reads: “Icarus. She is a student at Brown University. She also writes poetry. In her spare time, she”, and line four reads: “tends her window sill herb garden.”

The center1-pixel border separates the content for Lust and I Have Said Nothing. The 1-pixel border is white, centered, and measures 5 9/16”. The author’s name, title, and the author’s quote are underneath the 1-pixel border. The author’s name “J. Yellowlees Douglas” is left aligned, white, serif font, and is located at 4 6/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 4 6/16” top, and 1 15/16” right. The title I Have Said Nothing is left aligned, black, sans-serif font, and is located at 3 14/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 4 ¾” top, and 2 7/16” right. The author’s quote is left aligned, black, sans-serif font, and located 3 5/16” bottom, 3 10/16” left, 4 11/16” top, and ¼” right. The author’s quote is separated into six lines. Line one reads: “’I could say something lame’, line two reads: ‘about people wasting their’, line three reads: ‘lives trying to make things’, line four reads: ‘matter. Of how we spend our’, line five reads: ‘lives mistaking patterns for’, and line six reads: ‘Order…But I say nothing.’”

The synopsis of I Have Said Nothing is underneath the title and lines five through eight are also underneath the author’s quote. The synopsis is left aligned, white, sans-serif font, and separated into eight lines. Lines one to four are located at 3 ¼” bottom, 3/16” right, 5 3/16” top, and 2 ½”. Lines five to eight are located at 3 ¼” bottom, 3/16” left, 5 ¾” top, and 3/16” right. Line one reads: “A meditation on the enormous space that divides us”, line two reads: “from each other, bracketed by two car crashes. The”, line three reads: “seeming fragmentation of Douglas’s hypertext, and the”, line four reads: “colloquial tone of the author’s powerful voice, bring us”, line five reads: “closer than we would like to the randomness and loss that are just around the corner in our”, line six reads: “lives. The narrator is driven to tell us that our losses are not like the tragedies on our movie”, line seven reads: “screens, built into meaning. Still, what we read is all a story, so we don’t quite believe it—but”, and line eight reads: “then the flickering bits of texts, coming and going, make us know how it is, for an instant.”

The review of "I Have Said Nothing" is between the synopsis and the author’s biographical information. The review is center aligned, white, sans-serif font, and is located at 2 6/16” bottom, 6/16” right, 6 6/16” top, and 7/16” right. The review is separated into two lines. Line one reads: “’A single clear narrative voice recounts the accidental deaths of two young women, her brother’s lovers, in suc-‘” and line two reads: “’cession….Douglas’s writing is clear, vigorous and emotionally restrained.’—Judith Kerman, author of Mothering”

The author’s biographical information is underneath the review. The biographical information is left aligned, white, sans-serif font, and located at 1 ¾” bottom, 3/16” left, 6 11/16” top, and ¼” right. The biographical information is separated into four lines. Line one reads: “J. Yellowlees Douglas is an Assistant Professor of English at Lehman College, City University of”, line two reads: “New York, and director of its Program in Professional Writing. For more than seven years, she”, line three reads: “has been researching and writing on hypertext. Her critical work on hypertext has appeared”, and line four reads: “in leading journals and collections in the US and UK.”

The bottom 1-pixel border separates the content for "I Have Said Nothing" and the publisher’s information. The 1-pixel border is centered, white, and measures 5 9/16”. The computer requirements, publisher’s logo, publisher’s information, and barcode are underneath the 1-pixel border. The computer requirements are left aligned, white, sans-serif font, and located at 1 ½” bottom, 3/16” left, 7 6/16” top, and 1 1/16” right. The computer requirements read: “For WindowsTM and Macintosh.TM Requires 2 MB RAM and a hard disk drive.” The publisher’s logo is a white outlined image of a rounded stone doorway in a stoned wall and is located at 3/16” bottom, 3/16” left, 7 10/16” top, and 4 1/2” right. The publisher’s information is left aligned, white, sans-serif font, and located at 3/8” bottom, 1 9/16” left, 7 10/16” top, and 2 9/16” right. The publisher’s information is separated into six lines. Line one reads: “Published by”, line two reads: “Eastgate Systems INc”, line three reads: “134 Main Street”, line four reads: “Watertown, MA 02172”, line five reads: “(800) 562-1638”, and line six reads: “(617) 924-9044”. The ISBN number is white, sans-serif font, and is located at ¼” bottom, 3 7/16”, 7 10/16” top, and 2 7/16” right. The ISBN reads: “ISBN 1-884511-12-0.” The barcode is within a white box located at 3/16” bottom, 3 9/16” left, 7 9/16” top, and 3/16” right.

Folio, Spine
The folio spine measures 9” x ¼” in size. The left text of the spine is white, serif font, and reads: “The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext”. The center-left text of the spine is white, sans-serif font, and reads: “Mary-Kim Arnold”. The center-right text of the spine is white, sans-serif font, and reads: “J. Yellowlees Douglas”. The right text of the spine is white, serif font, and reads: “Eastgate Systems, Inc.”



Folio, Inside, Opened
Folio, Inside Left: The inside folio page is a sleeve that stores the works and paper materials through a vertical opening. The top of the page contains an advertisement for The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext. The advertisement encourages the reader to subscribe to The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext for four issues priced at $49.95. The bottom of the page contains the copyright information, trademarks, Eastgate Systems, Inc. logo, and Eastgate Systems, Inc. contact information.

Folio, Inside Right: The inside folio page is a sleeve that stores the works and paper materials through a vertical opening. The top of the page contains a detailed explanation of what Storyspace is, how it is used, why it is good, and reviews from Robert Coover of New York Time Book Review, George Mitrevski of IALL Journal of Language Learning Technologies, and Prof. George Landow of Brown University. The bottom of the page contains the price for Storyspace and a ten pack of Storyspace. The Storyspace text explains that educational discounts are available for all Storyspace products.



Floppy Disk, Macintosh, Front
The floppy disk is black and measures 3 1/2” x 3 11/16”. The label on the front is white with red text, measures 2 ¾” x 2 2/16”, and wraps over the top of the disk. The top of the label contains the information on the publishing series The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext. The publishing information is red and reads: “Volume 1, Number 2” and “Winter, 1994”. The center of the label contains the titles and the author’s names. The titles and author’s names are red and centered on the left and right side. The left side reads: “Lust” and “Mary Kim-Arnold”. The right side reads: “I Have Said Nothing” and “J. Yellowlees Douglas”. Underneath the author’s name, centered, and in red is the text for the operating system: Macintosh. Separating the top from the bottom of the label is a red thin box with white text that reads: “SERIOUS HYPERTEXT from”. The bottom of the label is white with red text and an ASCII image. The bottom of the label contains the publishing company’s logo, company name, address, and two phone numbers.



Floppy Disk, Macintosh, Back
The floppy disk is black and measures 3 1/2” x 3 11/16”. The label on the back is white with red text, measures 2 ¾” x ½”, and wraps over the top of the disk. The text on the label contains the copyright information by Eastgate Systems, Inc..



Floppy Disk, Windows, Front
The floppy disk is grey and measures 3 1/2” x 3 11/16”. The label on the front is white with red text, measures 2 ¾” x 2 2/16”, and wraps over the top of the disk. The top of the label contains the information on the publishing series The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext. The publishing information is red and reads: “Volume 1, Number 2” and “Winter, 1994”. The center of the label contains the titles and the author’s names. The titles and author’s names are red and centered on the left and right side. The left side reads: “Lust” and “Mary Kim-Arnold”. The right side reads: “I Have Said Nothing” and “J. Yellowlees Douglas”. Underneath the author’s name, centered, and in red is the text for the operating system: Windows. Separating the top from the bottom of the label is a red thin box with white text that reads: “SERIOUS HYPERTEXT from”. The bottom of the label is white with red text and an ASCII image. The bottom of the label contains the publishing company’s logo, company name, address, and two phone numbers.



Floppy Disk, Windows, Front
The floppy disk is grey and measures 3 1/2” x 3 11/16”. The label on the back is white with red text, measures 2 ¾” x ½”, and wraps over the top of the disk. The text on the label contains the copyright information by Eastgate Systems, Inc..



CD, Front
The CD has a diameter of 4 7/16”. The CD is dark red with twelve white lines that create large circles that are offset to the bottom right. The publisher’s name is serif font, white, and located to the left and aligned to the top of the clear, circular plastic piece of the CD. The text inside the circles is sans-serif font, white, and separated into two sections. Section one is located top-right in the first circle and reads: www.eastgate.com. Section two is located bottom-right and reads: “commodity-firmness-delight”.



CD Sleeve, Front
The CD sleeve is white paper with a clear circular window in the center and measures 5” x 5”. The top of the sleeve is an off-white label that wraps over the top and is in red text. The label contains the copyright information by Eastgate Systems, Inc.



CD Sleeve, Back
The CD sleeve is white paper and measures 5” x 5”. The label on the back is off-white, measures 2 ¾” x 2 2/16”, and wraps over the top of the sleeve. The top of the label contains the information on the publishing series The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext. The center of the label contains the version numbers and titles. The version number and titles are black, centered, and read: “EQRH v1.2 I Have Said Nothing & Lust. Separating the top from the bottom of the label is a red thin box with white text that reads: “SERIOUS HYPERTEXT from”. The bottom of the label is white with red text and an ASCII image. The bottom of the label contains the publishing company’s logo, company name, address, and two phone numbers.



Advertising Card, Turning In, Front
The postcard is an advertisement for Wes Chapman’s Turning In, published by Eastgate Systems, Inc. and measures 6” x 4”. The art, color, and font for the title in the advertisement match Turning In’s folio cover.



Advertising Card, Turning In, Back
The postcard is an advertisement for Wes Chapman’s Turning In published by Eastgate Systems, Inc. and measures 6” x 4”. The postcard contains a brief description of Wes Chapman’s Turning In, information about Eastgate Systems, Inc. website, contact information for Eastgate Systems, Inc., and a special offer sticker promising 20% off your next Eastgate order.



Advertising Insert, Front
The full advertisement measures 1’ 9” x 5” and folds inwards in two places. The advertisement sections measure 7” x 5”. The adverstisement of the left side is black with the white Uncle Buddy image of a man’s face covering the right side. The text on the advertisement highlights the game mechanics of John McDaid's Uncle Buddy’s Phantom Funhouse and includes reviews by Robert Coover and Gavin Edwards. The advertisement in the middle is white with an image in the center and text on the side. The image is Michael Joyce’s afternoon, a story. The text on the advertisement contains reviews from Robert Coover, Pamela McCorduck, and Richard Grant. The advertisement on the right is grey with black and white text. The text on the advertisement contains a brief description of the work and a review from Stuart Moluthrop.



Advertising Insert, Back
The full advertisement measures 1’ 9” x 5” and folds outwards in two places. The advertisement sections measure 7” x 5”. The advertisement on the left side is white with some black boxes that contain information about purchasing other Eastgate works. The Eastgate System, Inc. works are Stuart Moulthrop’s Victory Garden $19.95, Judy Malloy’s Its Name Was Penelope $19.95, Jim Rosenberg’s Intergrams $19.95, Carolyn Guyer’s Quibbling $19.95, Clark Humphrey’s The Perfect Couple $19.95, Sarah Smith’s King of Space $24.95, John McDaid’s Uncle Buddy’s Phantom Funhouse $39.95, J. Yellowlees Douglas’s 'I Have Said Nothing"/Mary-Kim Arnold’s "Lust" $19.95, and Deena Larsen’s Marble Springs $19.95. The bottom right of the advertisement contains Eastgate Systems, Inc. contact information. The center advertisement has a white background with an image of a rocky cliff on the right half. The Marble Springs advertisement contains a brief description of the work. The advertisement on the right side is white with some black text boxes, white text, black text, and a logo. The advertisement contains Eastgate Systems, Inc. street address and a greeting from Eastgate’s Chief Scientist Mark Bernstein.



Booklet, Front
The booklet front is made of white printing paper with black inked text and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The top of the page contains the series name in serif font and reads: “The Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext”. The center of the page contains the two author’s names above their works in serif font. The first author’s name and work reads: “J. Yellowlees Douglas” and “I Have Said Nothing”. The second author’s name and work reads: “Mary-Kim Arnold” and “Lust”. The bottom of the page contains the volume and number in serif font and reads: “volume 1 number 2”.



Booklet, Back
The booklet back is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The page is blank.



Booklet, Non-Numbered Page and Page 1
Non-Numbered: The page is not numbered, made of white printing paper, and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The page contains the copyright information for Eastgate Systems, Inc. and the trademark information for Hypercard, Macintosh, Windows, and Storyspace. The text at the bottom-center explains that the stories and the characters are fictional.
Page 1: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The top of the page contains text that explains how to recognize and install the Windows and the Macintosh floppy disks. The bottom of the page contains an advertisement for Carolyn Guyer’s Quibbling. The advertisement contains a brief description of the author’s style, an ASCII image of waves, a review by Robert Coover, Mac and Windows compatibility, and purchase price.



Booklet, Page 2 and Page 3
Page 2: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The contents of the page is a forward called “The Quick and The Dirty” for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing."
Page 3: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The contents of the page is a continuation of the forward called “The Quick and The Dirty” for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing."



Booklet, Page 4 and Page 5
Page 4: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The contents of the page is a continuation of the forward called “The Quick and The Dirty” for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing." The end of the text is J. Yellowlees Douglas’ CompuServe email and their invitation to discuss their work.
Page 5: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing" and mention John McDaid’s Uncle Buddy’s Phantom Funhouse and other Eastgate Systems, Inc. works.



Booklet, Page 6 and Page 7
Page 6: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing" and mention Mary-Kim Arnold’s "Lust,"  John McDaid’s Uncle Buddy’s Phantom Funhouse, and other Eastgate Systems, Inc. works.
Page 7: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing" and mention other Eastgate Systems, Inc. works.



Booklet, Page 8 and Page 9
Page 8: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing."
Page 9: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing."



Booklet, Page 10 and Page 11
Page 10: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing."
Page 11: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing."



Booklet, Page 12 and Page 13
Page 12: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the continuation of introductory remarks called “The Crash of Nothing into Something” by Stuart Moulthrop. The introductory remarks are written for J. Yellowlees Douglas’ "I Have Said Nothing."
Page 13: The page is made of white printing paper and measures 5 ½” x 8 ½”. The content of the page is the references used in the forward and the introductory remarks.

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