Hypertextopia

Hypertextopia is a free hypertext story writing program similar to the more expensive Storyspace program. It is a program created by Jeremy Ashkenas from MIT. It is a space where the user can read and write stories. They are hypertexts and more. In hypertext, the author does not have as much control as non-hypertext. Ashkenas uses axial hypertext, which gives the writer a bit more control to complete a train of thought to move the story along without interruption. Ashkenas explains axial this way:

The axial style helps the author to maintain narrative coherence in a hypertext by insisting on a beginning, an end, and a thrust of rhetoric that connects the two. After a reader has completed an axial hypertext, they should understand the point that the author is trying to make. This style is often contrasted against fully networked hypertexts, where the reader is free to enter at any point, proceed to any other point, and may leave at any time she chooses.

Some may be familiar with another such hypertext program called Storyspace. I was first introduced with Storyspace in the early 90's with a story by Michael Joyce called "afternoon, a story." This program from Eastgate is widely used and costly. It requires commitment. The results however can be astonishing.What I love about the concept is how the reader becomes so involved and engaged in the story. Reading is not passive, instead it is engaging and active.


Hypertextopia is a great experimental web 2.0 program that permits the teacher to let hir scholars play around with hypertext stories, to read them, and to gain a better understanding of hypertext. The glory of hypertext is that it imitates the mind. By that, I mean that with hypertext, we the reader are able to pause and take a sojourn down a path of thought initiated by a text being read that has a hypertext link to a site that provides further reading on a topic so that the reader may be better informed about the original text and inspiration provided the writer. It helps the reader become equal with the writer, it allows the reader to have access to the knowledge that the writer has. There is a democracy aspect about hypertext that we don't find in traditional print texts where the reader needs to have access to the inspiring texts which is not always possible given physical location and proximity to a library or bookstore. The text may also be unavailable completely. The concept of hypertextual writing coupled with the axial concept provides a dimension to writing and even to reading, heretofore unaccessible in print writing and reading. It gives a physical depth to reading and writing that may make the process of both more accessible to more people and might even be a way to introduce Multiple Intelligences into the reading and writing process in our schools and for our scholars.

Learning about Hypertextopia is easily accomplished by viewing stories in the Grand Library. The library is filled with inspiration and great learning. The scholars will be awed with wonder and inspired to write and to consider hypertext. This is a worthy program, a good experiment to explore. It will give our scholars great opportunities to grow and to see reading and writing from a different perspective.