Greetings and salutations!
Head over to time.com and search 'epic twitter,' or check out the article "Tweeting the World's Longest Poem" on the Word in the Street board in class. More and more, authors are using Twitter as another medium for their work. Would you read literature 140 characters at a time? Is what they're doing even "literature?" (And why do you say that?)
As your introductory post, discuss: Twitter Literature. What forms/genres might work? Why? What advantages as a publishing medium or tool does something like Twitter have? What are the possible downsides? What would an author have to do well? And would you be willing to read the world's longest poem this way?
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In my opinion twitter literature is not literature at all. If you are given 140 characters yes it might be hard but you cannot produce anything good out of it. turning the worlds largest poem into mini tweets is destroying it. Yes, I give these authors credit for what they are doing, it is a true talent. But seriously, this is not literature. IT'S TWITTER!! I would not want to read the worlds longest poem in tweets. If i want to read this poem I will pick up the book and read it. The only thin that could possibly work with "Twitter Literature" are small poems or haiku's or something of that nature. And the only reason these small poems would work is because they will fit into 140 characters without making a meaningless piece of literature like a short story would be.
ReplyDeleteDo i think twitter is literature, well i am not sure. I know that I would read 140 characters at a time because in reality it is not that much to read. Would i read the world's longest poem in tweets, probably not. This is only because it would not interest me. I would read funny little things or and interesting story through tweets. If you were a writer and had a cool idea i bet that twitter would be a good way to advertise it do to its poularity. However, it may be frowned upon by other writers and observers because of its lack of text. You can write in any median you would like, if it is literature tou you as a writer and you really have passion for it than it is literature.
ReplyDeleteI would a Haiku on twitter! IT would be a good time cause All you need is 15 characters.Who said Haiku is not literature. But if you where to do regular literature on twitter, it might destroy the purpose cause there may not be enough room to express your self.
ReplyDeleteGuess it can't really not be counted as literature, but definitely not a tool to write books.Pretty much short poems is all this would be good for, 140 words just isn't enough for anything else substantial. If you write poetry it's quicker than publishing a book, but then again no profit from it considering twitter is free.No, I would not read anything long or at all this way.
ReplyDeleteTwitterature will be a very interesting new format that could support existing fiction (as it is now with the retelling of Shakespeare and Harry Potter) or even become a serious genre in its own right. In either case, this new-found format for writing is certainly a much better use for Twitter than the mundane posts everyone seems to think it's useful for.
ReplyDeleteId definitely say that it is not literature at all. No way i would read the worlds longest poem on twitter. Its stupid. literature is suppose to flow and being only 140 characters what possible flow or passion could be put into it. The only thing that could be considered an advantage or upside to twitterature would be the fact that people could follow, discuss, comment on the tweets as they come out. It would be a good way to follow the "literature" and interact on your feelings about the piece.
ReplyDeleteI would definatly not read the longest poem if it was posted on twitter. Having a form of literature broken up into tweets of 140 characters would be incredibly difficult to read. I think between posts the meaning of literature would be lost unless it was a haiku or other form of short poetry.
ReplyDeleteI think that you could still call written work on twitter a form of literature because it still comes from the persons ideas and expressions, just like any other literature. It is just written down in a different form that people are not used to seeing. Also it could be a good way to puplicise and grab peoples attention to get them to read more of the poem.
ReplyDeletei guess you would have to concider the writings on twitter literature because it still is a form of writing, and it involves the same developmental process . do i think it is ideal? no i disagree with the idea just because its not the same as picking up a book and reading it. twitting it is just taking literature and turning it in the a useless story. what is the point in taking a perfect story and trying to fit each scene into 140 character?
ReplyDeleteI see it more as a challenge than a writing style. It is really hard to write a story with a cap off of 140 characters. It's such a small space that the writers can't express what their thinking very easily and it gets in the way of what their really trying to say. They are talented if they can do that, but I wouldn't want to read is myself or anything.
ReplyDeleteThe only forms of literature that could really work on twitter would be short poems. Ideas can't really be developed, but poets try to say more with less words, so the 140 characters could be suitable in this case. Any other form of literature would be frustrating to read, especially because on websites like twitter the earlier entries are on the bottom, so one would have to read up the page. The site could be a good marketing tool for authors of all genres, who could generate interest in their work by posting blurbs or summaries. An author would have to be able to catch the reader's attention quickly, but if they can do so twitter could prove to be a great free marketing tool. I would much prefer reading the world's longest poem in a written format instead of on twitter.
ReplyDeleteAt Squirtle, one of the best books I ever read, Life of Pi, was broken up into chapters short enough to fit into a Tweet or two. The book could easily be transcribed onto Twitter in an episodic format, no differently the average webseries, comic book, or television show. Just because a story is broken up into small parts doesn't neccessarily make it a bad thing.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I would not like to read anything with substance broken up into tweets of 140 characters each. I think it would just get too annoying to read as single thoughts deserving quite a bit of space would have to be intentionally trimmed to the "tweet" length. If an author, of any genre, was expected their work to be read, I do not think it would be successful on twitter.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it's not right to say that twitter couldn't be used to present literature. There are several forms of literature, the first coming to mind being musical lyrics, that are short, fragmented, and not easily related to each other.
Genres that could work would be haikus, because they're so short anyway, but even then it might be rough to fit everything in. personally, ive never even looked at or used twitter, the entire thing seems kind of stupid. i dont really care what kind of coffee you're getting from starbucks, sorry. While it does seem like some people do follow on twitter that could help get publicity if you're just starting up, but long term would just ruin you. Personally, i'd rather there wasn't even a website out there like twitter, so no, i wouldnt want to read a 'tweeted' poem.
ReplyDeleteI find that most poems would be able to work on Twitter, but only ones that are less than 5-10 tweets, any more than that and it just becomes an eyesore. Also, short stories would work, but any long and detailed works of information or facts wouldn't work, it's just too much and all broken up, it wouldn't allow a reader to actually take in the meaning. The advantages of Twitter are that you don't have to go buy or check out the book at the library. Some downsides are that the story isnt a full piece of work, to some readers that can be frustrating, others it may work to their advantage because it only requires a short attention span. I find the biggest part is vocabulary and imagery, they'll keep someone who is reading a long piece of literature in Tweets, interested. As for reading the world's longest poem, count me out.
ReplyDeleteI believe that twitter is not literature,i would not read a poem that was on twitter. I think that just giving 140 characters to express you thoughts is not enough. I dont think i would read the poem if it was #1-on twitter and #2-only 140 characters.
ReplyDeleteI would not be willing to read the worlds longest poem on twitter, it would be annoying to only read 140 characters at a time. Why not just put it in a book like everyone else so it is easy to read? If anything, only short poems would work on twitter and even then I wouldn't want to read them.
ReplyDeleteI would not be willing to read the world's longest poem ever, especially via twitter. Its author, if it chose medium as a twitter, obviously has no sense to obtain the rights to their own poem and therefore doesn't have the literary experience to be writing a successful "worlds longest poem". The majority of those using twitter only THINK they can write poetry in the first place, and the things that would need to be done to make a twitter poem interesting (use of motifs, poetic structure, etc.) could not be kept consistent throughout the poem.
ReplyDeleteI would consider reading the worlds longest poem if it was on twitter because it might not be in a different language like most poems I read seem to be. After 140 characters, I probably start to lose focus. Only reading it 140 characters at a time might help me get through it.
ReplyDelete'Twitter' has made the dictionary! (As has 'OMG;' 'lol' has been there for a year or two.) The dictionary editors would say that they are simply describing the language as they find it, no value judgments involved.
ReplyDeleteWhy do my English-teacher instincts simultaneously laugh and shudder at the news?
Do you see Twitter or internet/texting abbreviations or conventions having any lasting impact on literature?
Nah, i will pass on the whole twitter thing all together. i wouldnt be willing to read the worlds longest poem even in book so why on twitter? twitter is worthless because noone is goin to take you seriously on twitter and you have better things to do with your time. i dont know about you but i could live without knowing that Bob Saget is drinking his morning coffee.
ReplyDeletei think that all this dictionary stuff is overated. people should just be able to say what they want without anyone worring about if it is proper english or not. as for the other words, they are nothing but stupid acronyms. other acronys arnt in the dictionary so why should they be? also if we continue to talk more and more in acronyms then eventually it would be a pain because kids would have to memorize even more and not everyone has the brain that i do and they cant remember them all.
ReplyDeleteIts hard to imagine reading a poem in installments of 140 characters. Its certainly a challange, but I can't see people wanting to read it for any reason besides seeing it completed. I think twitter in and of itself is annoying, and I don't think a poem twitter-style can even be considered literature.
ReplyDeleteLiterature by defnition is writing in which expression and form are characteristic or essential features. Dealing with 140 characters, how are you going to manage to stick to any sort of form? You're barely going to be able to form full thoughts, let alone a form and a style.
I don’t think that twitter is a form of literature. I also wouldn’t want to read the world’s longest poem through literature. I can understand why authors use twitter. It helps their audience have better access to their writing. And, that would help them sell more books. But, a disadvantage is that twitter is only 140 characters so it would be hard to express them selves in a meaningful way besides,"I'm eating right now." I guess I think twitter could be literature sometimes, like in poems but overall I don’t think it's a form of literature.
ReplyDeleteI believe that anything that is written is literature, even if its not published. At 140 characters at a time, it maybe difficult to keep up with, but the suspense of what will come out next is exilerating for some people. I think only peoms and short stories would work with this because reading Harry Potter at only 140 characters at a time would be terrible. Twitter is free, like most blogs, and any one would be able to access your work it you tweeted it. However, many people dont regonsize the internet as a valuable source because theyre old and some of them dont have internet. The author would have to spilt the important parts (climaxes) apart so that he/she can maintain the suspense. Personally, I would wait until it came out in a book or something to read it.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, twitter is not literature. Having to read the world's longest poem through literature would cause me to lose focus because I would only be able to read 140 characters at a time. The idea of authors using twitter for their writing does have its advantages however because they can reach their audience much easier. Twitter can only be considered a form of literature if the writing is short and less then 140 characters.
ReplyDeleteI do belive twitter is literature. I think anything written is literature even if it is just a simple text message or letter, it doesnt have to be published. Yes it would be hard to read the worlds longest poem using only 140 characters a minute, but other then that it makes it more interesting. Overall I think twitter is a little out there, but isent everything?
ReplyDeleteI dont really think that writing the worlds longest tweet is realistic. I dont really know who has the time to do that but props to him. I think that because it is broken up into 140 characters it would not be considered literature; atleast not the literature were used to. I feel like it would ruin the story by breaking it up and what if you got to a really good part but had to wait until he posted another tweet.
ReplyDeletei think twitter is pretty lame so i would definitely not read the worlds longest poem, let alone anything at all on twitter. if someone feels the absolute need to use twitter they should only use it for talking to their friends or what ever its meant for.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Twitter doesn't have literature. It is basically a updating text message. With 140 characters, nothing can be written and read seriously. I don't think a real author should be using twitter, its one for teenagers who have nothing to do. It is just another thing to have kids waste there time on instead of important things. The longest poem ever written, split up into millions of 140 character twitter messages.. really? Whoever that person is, they need to find something better to do. I personally wouldn't ever read it.
ReplyDeleteTwitter literature? It might work, though it would probably be pretty hard to do. The 140 character limit is too restrictive to write anything seriously. I suppose that would mean comedy could work, but even that could take too long. I don't see any advantage to using twitter to write a poem.
ReplyDeleteThe paragraph I just wrote above is already about 290 characters. Having to read a poem in bits less than half that size is just too tedious. I probably wouldn't read any literature on twitter because of that.
Twitter is not literature. Literature has to have LITERARY elements in it and that rarely happens when twitter is being used.You can not write anything that is well developed with only 140 characters. I would NEVER read the worlds largest poem on twitter posts. I would loose interest really quickly. It would make the poem boring and it would loose a lot of effect. Also I would probably forget what happened in the beginning of the poem with all of the days I had to wait for the next tweet. If I wanted to know about the poem then I would read it out of a book or off a website in one sitting. Short poems would work on twitter because they are under 140 characters. Other then that, literary work would not on twitter.
ReplyDelete