Literary landscape changes with technology

Elizabeth Lorang's office is dim, as if it's lit by candle-light. But don't let that fool you – she a tech-savvy graduate researcher.


Lorang is project manager and senior editorial assistant for the Walt Whitman Archive, a Web site dedicated to publishing archival-quality images of Walt Whitman's manuscripts.


The Walt Whitman Archive is one more way technology is changing the literary landscape.

 
The archive lets anyone in the world with an Internet connection access the classic 19th century poet's manuscripts for free.


"It fits with Whitman's views of democracy," Lorang said.


This is good news for a Web audience demanding free information, but not necessarily for contemporary authors who want payment for their work.


James Engelhardt, managing editor for Prairie Schooner literary magazine, said there is tension between people wanting free material and authors getting paid.

His magazine is not free online, but it uses technology in other ways.


The magazine started blogging in October, and offers a downloadable subscription order form on its Web site.


Engelhardt said the online order form is the steadiest year-round new subscriber source, bringing in about 50 customers.


Prairie Schooner is also looking into publishing on the Amazon Kindle, Engelhardt said. The magazine's availability on the e-reader would keep digitize the publication's format without ditching a price tag.


The Walt Whitman Archive's free availability, however, can be a good thing for scholarship.


Graduate students can use technology-based research to get a leg up in the academic world. Lorang said she has networked with senior scholars since starting with the archive.


But even scholarship is vulnerable to tech problems. Digital literary projects are sometimes viewed as inferior quality when compared with print siblings, Lorang said.


The battle between online and print continues.


robmclean@dailynebraskan.com