Unlocked on Torn World

[ysabetwordsmith]

 You can now read my poems "Cage of Hope" and "Hearsay Cafe" on Torn World.  They're not new, but rather are older poems that have been unlocked for public viewing.

Comments

clarification

[dialecticdreamer]

I'm having trouble with the formatting of "Cage of Hope"

Are there two parallel poems, each read vertically (left column, right column)

or one poem read in mirroring (left to right on each line, each side meant to convey different meanings.)

Processing disorder kicked me into a headache over this one, so I'm asking for the "training wheels and Trip-tick map" version. Thanks!

Re: clarification

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> I'm having trouble with the formatting of "Cage of Hope" <<

I'm sorry about that.

>> Are there two parallel poems, each read vertically (left column, right column)

or one poem read in mirroring (left to right on each line, each side meant to convey different meanings.) <<

There is one poem. Each line has a caesura or space in the middle, which indicates a pause and a shift in concept. It's kind of like an ellipsis that isn't drawn in. (This technique is briefly mentioned in the end note.) You can read about that here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caesura

>> Processing disorder kicked me into a headache over this one, so I'm asking for the "training wheels and Trip-tick map" version. Thanks! <<

I appreciate this insight, and I'm going to write it up. I never stopped to think before that a caesura could make reading more difficult for someone with -- well, any kind of visual or linguistic processing issue, probably. But it's obvious once you've pointed it out, which means I want to discuss that, because I'm really interested in which techniques to use or not use for certain purposes.

Do you want me to cite this discussion, or leave it unsourced?

Re: clarification

[dialecticdreamer]

Grin, go ahead and cite it. Processing disorder is nothing to be "ashamed" of, and if I /do/ keep it private for some misguided reason, it might NOT help someone else with a similar visual 'kink' in the slinky.

I liked the first four lines....

Question... Can Dreamwidth show background color per line?

If you cluster not even every line, the first and last of each verse
HIGHLIGHT first line HIGHLIGHT END
second line
third line
HIGHLIGHT fourth line END HIGHLIGHT

that would be enough framework for a reference point.


With the processing, it's eyes-skipping-all-over-the-page looking for signposts, like indents and spaces between paragraphs in one format, or solid margin, first line caps, etc,

But when I don't have those signposts, that all over skipping doesn't stop, so the eyestrain turns into headache in seconds.

Re: clarification

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Grin, go ahead and cite it. Processing disorder is nothing to be "ashamed" of, and if I /do/ keep it private for some misguided reason, it might NOT help someone else with a similar visual 'kink' in the slinky. <<

Done, and the post is up. Thanks for your insight.

>> I liked the first four lines.... <<

Yay!

>> Question... Can Dreamwidth show background color per line? <<

Maybe? So far the only thing I've done to change background color is making spoiler blanks. It's at the fringe of my "There is now a Level 0" coding expertise.

>> If you cluster not even every line, the first and last of each verse
HIGHLIGHT first line HIGHLIGHT END
second line
third line
HIGHLIGHT fourth line END HIGHLIGHT

that would be enough framework for a reference point. <<

I have seen poems with a subtle tone of light background on one line, darker background on next line, to make it easier to distinguish lines.

But the actual poem is on the Torn World website, which ellenmillion codes, so I have no idea what works there.

>> With the processing, it's eyes-skipping-all-over-the-page looking for signposts, like indents and spaces between paragraphs in one format, or solid margin, first line caps, etc,

But when I don't have those signposts, that all over skipping doesn't stop, so the eyestrain turns into headache in seconds. <<

That is a very clear explanation, thanks.