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BreakingGraphicConventions:CapturingStoriesthroughTextandImage|LINQ

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BreakingGraphicConventions:CapturingStoriesthroughTextandImage|LINQ

BreakingGraphicConventions:CapturingStoriesthroughTextandImage
HomeBreakingGraphicConventions:CapturingStoriesthroughTextandImage
ByJarrydLuke

Introduction
Withtheproliferationofdesktoppublishingandonlinepublication,manyauthorshavestartedusingvisualelementsphotos,sketches,diagrams,flipbooks,colour
andinventivetypographytotellstoriesthatwouldtraditionallybetoldonlywithtext.Thestudyofsuchgraphicdevicesinliterarytextsisparticularlyimportantin
todayschangingmediaeconomy,wheremoreauthorsareselfpublishingonlineandmakingdecisionsabouttypographicelementssuchaspagelayout,typefaceand
colour.HartmutStcklobservesthat,

wehaveallbecomeourowntypographersaswehandleourdocumentsfromstarttofinishIndoingsowedevelopourowntastes,designsandrules,thusshaping
anewdomainofunorsemiprofessionallaytypography,butmoreoftenthannotwesimplylacksoundknowledgeandmuchneededskills.Systematicthinking
aboutthesemioticnatureoftypographycan[provide]atoolfortheenablementofthetypographicallysemiliterate(213).

Thestudyofwordimagehybridsisclearlyanincreasinglyvaluableframeworkinanagewhencomputersareonceagainchangingthenatureofthebook(Schiff
26).

Thisarticlewillsuggestanewtaxonomyforthewaysinwhichgraphicdevicessubvertthetraditionalconventionsofillustratedfiction.Focusingonthisparticular
aspectofthesedevicesrevealshowtheychallengetraditionalreadinghabits,makingthereaderconsiderthefamiliarobjectofthebookinanewlight.

Theriseofhybridtexts
Combiningwordsandimagestotellastoryisnotanewphenomenon.JeanneEwertobservesthatcomicshaveexistedatleastsincetheprintingpresswasinvented
(72),whileexperimentswithtypographyandconcretepoetryarerecordedthroughoutliteraryhistory(vanPeer52).Illustratedfictionalsohasastrongtraditionin
theWest:bythemid1860s,theillustrationwasfirmlyestablishedasapartofthenarrativestructureofthenovel(Sillars,VisualisationinPopularFiction30).
FamousearlyexamplesoftextimageexperimentsincludeLaurenceSternesellipticalTristramShandy(1767)andWilliamBlakesselfillustratedpoemsinSongs
ofInnocenceandofExperience(1794).

ThispredominanceofillustrationinthenineteenthcenturyledDarraghMcManustoreflect,inanarticlecalledWhatBecameofIllustrationsinFiction?,onthe
relativelackofgraphicelementsincontemporaryliterature(1).McManus(ibid)encouragesauthorstotakeadvantageofvisualdevicespotential:theworldis
yourpictorialoyster.

Thesegraphicdevicesarelimitedbytherestrictionsofprintingtechnology,sotheyseemtobecomemorepopularinperiodswherecommunicationmediachange
dramatically,suchastheinventionoftheprintingpressinthesixteenthcentury,andtherapidincreaseinliteracyattheendofthenineteenthcentury(vanPeer59).
In1993,vanPeer(ibid)accuratelysuggestedthat,becausenewmediarequirenewformsfordealingwithlanguageandliteratureoneshouldexpectinthenear
future,relatedtothegrowthintheuseofpersonalcomputersforwordprocessinganewboomintypographicforegrounding.

Ithasonlybeeninthelastdecade,sincethepublicationofMarkZ.DanielewskisHouseofLeaves(2000)whichusesfootnotes,diagrams,apagefromacomic
book,photos,fragmentsofsheetmusic,andexperimentaltypographytotellthestoryofahauntedhousethatisbiggerontheinsidethanitisontheoutsidethat
morebookshavebeguntoincorporatevisualelementsasaninherentpartofthenarrative(Polk12).Theinclusionofgraphicelementsinfictionisbecoming
increasinglycommon,aidedbydevelopmentsindigitaltechnologyandtheincreasingpopularityandacceptanceofhypertextsandeBooks(Sadokierski217).

Whilestudyinghowgraphicdevicessubverttheconventionsofillustratedfiction,Ihavefoundapproximately270adult,literarynovelsandshortstorycollections
thatusethesedevices(forthefulllistseeLuke181).Idiscoveredsomeofthesebooksinpreviouscriticsdiscussions,particularlySadokierski,WhiteandFederman
(Surfiction).OthersIfoundbysearchingthroughlibraries,bookstoresandtheInternet(Pitts).Thisisbynomeansacompletelistbutitiscomprehensiveand
representativeenoughtogiveanideaoftherangeofhybridtexts.Theseexamplesaretakenfromallovertheworld,althoughmostofthemareEnglishlanguage
textsortranslations.Thefollowinggraphshowsthenumberofhybridtextspublishedannuallyforthelast90years,sincewhatisarguablythefirsthybridtextofthe
twentiethcentury,JamesJoycesUlysses(1922):

Fig.1:Hybridtextsfrom1922to2012
Thisgraphrevealsasurgeingraphicdevicesaspartofthe1960sand70savantgarde,withauthorssuchasChristineBrookeRose,B.S.JohnsonandRonald
Sukenick.Italsodemonstratesaconsiderableincreaseinhybridtextsovertime,particularlysincetheyear2000approximatelyhalfofthehybridtextsIhavefound
werepublishedinthenewmillennium.
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In2010ZoSadokierskiemployedthetermhybridnoveltodescribenovelsthatcombinelinguistictextwithimagesandtypographicdevices,creatingahybrid
discourse.Thisarticleusesthebroadertermhybridtextsbecauseitdiscussesshortstoriesaswellasnovels.

PeterdeVoogdsdescriptionofTristramShandyholdstrueforallhybridtexts:thetextsverbalandvisualelementsaresointimatelyinterwoventhattheyforman
aestheticwhole.Textandpicturecannotbedivorcedfromoneanotherwithoutseriousloss(qtd.inSchiff110).Sadokierskipointsoutthathybridnovelsarestill
soldonthesameshelvesasmoretraditionalnovelsbecausetheyarenotanewtypeofliterature,oranewfictionalsubgenre.Rather,theydemonstrateashiftin
theconventionsofthenovel(3).Graphicdeviceslikeanyotherliterarydevicecanbeemployedinanygenre,fromliterarytospeculativefiction(Kusche396).

IwilluseWillievanPeersdefinitionoftypographyasconsistingofthegraphicalrepresentationoflanguageonpaper(oranyotherinformationcarrier)andits
concretearrangement(typeface,paragrapharrangement,typesize,etc)(50).Iusethetermgraphicdeviceorvisualdevicetorefertoanyuseoftypographyor
imagesthatbreakswiththeconventionsofstandardprintnovels.MydefinitionofvisualimagesisbasedonW.J.TMitchells(qtd.inFjellestad12):any
recognizablefiguresandlikenesses,pictograms,geometricalshapes,drawings,photographs,musicalnotations,ordoodles.

Hybridtextscanfirstandforemostbedescribedasnovelsorshortstorycollectionsthatcontainallofthetraditionalelementsofliterarynarrative,suchasplot,
character,theme,settingandvoice.However,theirnarrativesareconstructednotonlyoutofwrittentext,buttypographicdevicesand/orvisualimagesaswell,and
therelationshipbetweenthesemodesissuchthatifthegraphicelementswereremovedoneormoreoftheelementsofnarrativewouldbesignificantlyalteredor
defaced.Thegraphicdevicesmustalsohavebeencreatedeitherbytheauthor,orbyacollaborationbetweentheauthorandanillustratorordesigner.Theformeris
thecaseformosthybridtexts,butthereareafewexamplesofthelatter,suchasIainSinclairandDavidMcKeansSlowChocolateAutopsy(1997)andNick
BantockandEdoardoPontisWindflower:ANovel(2006).Itisimportantthattheauthorcreatesorhassomekindofcontroloverthegraphicelements,becausethe
distinguishingfeatureofhybridtextsisthewayinwhichboththeverbalandvisualmodesaredevelopedtogethertocreateaunifiednarrative.

Idiscussthedistinctionsbetweenhybridtextsandsimilarformssuchasgraphicnovels,illustratedfictionandartistsbookselsewhere(Luke16).Hybridtextsare
lesswellknownthanmostoftheseforms,particularlygraphicnovelsandpicturebooks,whichhavealreadyestablishedapopularnichewithinthepublishingworld,
whereashybridtextsarestillarelativelyrareandilldefinedmedium,andmanyofthemhavenotreceivedmuchcriticalattention(Lefvre35).Manycriticshave
pointedoutthattypographyspotentialformeaningmakingisoftenoverlooked:itisremarkablehowlittleattentionisgiventosuchtypographicaldevicesin
stylistics(vanPeer51).NinaNrgaardarguesthereisageneraltendencyinliterarycriticismtodisregardthesemioticpotentialoftypographyinliteratureby
focusingmonomodallyonwordmeaningonly(141),andthatthisdisregardisreflectedbythechoicesmadeintheproductionofliteraryworks.Sillarsmakesa
similarobservationabouttheillustrationsthatappearedinmanycanonicalworksofVictorianliterature:mainstreamliterarystudyhasresolutelyrefusedtoaccept
thevisualdimensionofsuchtexts(VisualisationsinPopularFiction2).However,graphicdevicesarebeginningtoreceivemoreattentionnowthatsomehybrid
texts,suchasJonathanSafranFoersExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyClose(2005)andJenniferEgansAVisitfromtheGoonSquad(2010),havebecome
mainstream,prizewinningbestsellers.

Readingwordsandimages
WorkslikeHouseofLeavesandExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyCloserevealthatthephysicalappearanceofafictionalnarrativecansubstantiallyinflectandeven
contributetoitscontent.Theyraisequestionsabouttherelationshipbetweentextandimageandhowitaffectsthereadingexperience.Whatdoimagesand
typographydoinliteraryfiction?PeterSillarsstartsfromasimilarpointinhisdiscussionofVictorianillustratedshortstories:

Howdoes[animage]modifytheresponseofthereadertothewrittenword?Doesitenablehimorhertoentermorefullyintothecreatedfictiveworld,ordoesit
presentthatworldasmoreofanartifice?Doesitamplifytheconceptsandstructuresofthewords,ordoesitofferseparateonesofitsown,asasortofvisual
commentary?Ifthetwoworktogethertoprovideanewdiscourse,howisitassimilatedandhowbestanalysed?(VisualisationsinPopularFiction2).

Anumberofcriticshavediscussedthekindsofmeaninggraphicdevicescontributetoliteraryfiction.Somecriticsarguethatthetensionbetweenthesedevicesand
thewrittenwordcreatesathirdtext(Gutjahr21).ThisissimilartoW.J.T.Mitchellsconceptofthethirdspace.Mitchellarguesthespacebetweenwordsand
imagesisakindofvoidintowhich(andfromwhich)ideas,passions,narratives,representationsemerge.Itisthethirdspace,theinbetweenwherecontingency
rules(qtd.inMcNamara1996,10).Forexample,TeriReynoldssuggeststhathybridtextsasopposedtostandard,typographicallytransparentprintnovelsare
opaque,orthickwithmeaning(169170).

Hybridtextsarealsoinherentlyselfreflective,becausetheyforegroundthetechniquesthatbroughtthemintobeing.JeromeMcGannstudieshowconcretepoems
(and,Iwouldargue,hybridtexts)highlighttheirownphysicalityandconstructednessandturnbackuponthemselves,urgingthereadertowardacorrespondent
reflexiveposturetowardthesceneofwriting(106).Graphicdevicescallattentiontotheconventions(bothverbalandvisual)thatfacilitatethereadersabsorption
inthenarrative.

Othercriticshavesuggestedeverybookishybrid,ormultimodal,becauseallwrittentextcontainsaspatialorvisualelement(Hocks630631).GutjahrandBenton
arguethatoncegivenvisualform,anytextisimplicitlycodedbythatforminwaysthatsignal,howeversubtly,itsnatureandpurposeandhowitscreatorswishit
tobeapproachedandvalued(6).

Similarly,KarenSchiffarguesthatwordsandimagesareinterpreteddifferentlybythebrain:alineofprintmustbereadfrombeginningtoendinordertobe
understood,whereasimageshavenosequentialpathfortheeyetofollowintime(5).Asaresult,hybridtextsplaywiththereadersperceptionoftimeinthe
narrative(ibid).Graphicdevicescaninterruptonesreadingrhythmbecause,whendecipheringimages,thebrainuseswholeness,simultaneity,andsynthesis,
whereaswordsrequiresequence,analysisandabstraction(Shlainqtd.inSadokierski6).

Theseobservationsindicatethecomplexityofmeaningmakinginhybridtexts,andgivesomeideaofthechallengesandrewardsinvolvedinwritingandreading
them.Theliteraturehasdemonstratedthat,althoughgraphicdevicesinliteraryfictionhavetraditionallybeenoverlooked,alargecorpusofhybridtextsalready
exists,andtheyareenteringthemainstream.CriticssuchasSadokierskiandSchiffhavealreadyassertedthevalueofthesekindsofnarratives,whileotherssuchas
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Whitehavedemonstratedthatvisualdevicesdonotmerelydefamiliariseorforegroundthenatureofreading:theyalsocontributetomeaningincomplexways.
CriticssuchasLevenston,WhiteandSadokierskihaveattemptedtoclassifygraphicdevicesandtheconnectionsbetweenthemandthelinguistictext,indicating
patternsoftypicalusage.

However,becausehybridtextsincorporateavarietyofmodes,previousapproachestotheformhavecomefromarangeofdisciplinessuchasvisualdesign,
semioticsandnarratology.Manyoftheseapproachesaretentative,orlimitedbytheboundariesoftheirfieldofstudy.Thereoftenseemstobealackofcross
pollinationbetweenthesedisciplines.AsWolfgangHalletstates,theverbalvisualinteractionwithinhybridtexts

cannotbegraspedthroughtraditionalnarratologicalandliterarystudiesalone.Themultimodalityofnarrativesconfrontsnarratologywithphenomenathathavenot
sofarbeentheobjectsofitsresearch.Thereforenarratologymustresorttoandintegratetheexpertisethathasbeendevelopedinotherdisciplinesinorderto
describeanddecodenonnovelistic,nonnarrativeandnonverbalmodesandmediaandtheirinterplaywithverbalnarration(151).
AccordingtoHallet,researchersanalysinghybridtextsneedtoincorporateknowledgefromfieldsoutsidethetraditionalboundariesofliterarytheory.Similarly,
scholarswithinthefieldofliterarystudieshaveidentifiedaneedforamorecomprehensiveandsystematicstudyofhybridtexts.Forexample,GlynWhiteargues,

thereismuchclosereadingstilltobedoneoftextswhichpresentadistinctivegraphicsurfaceOverall,therearemanycriticalgapsandnewopportunitiesand
muchmoreworktodo.Anawarenessofthegraphicsurfacemayoffermethodsbywhichtotackleandincludeelementsoftextsthatmightotherwiseseemtofall
outsidetheremitoftheliterarycriticThepointisthatcriticismmustkeepupandbeasflexibleandadaptableasnovelistsandreaders(207).
Thisisalongstandingissuein1980thetypographerRobertH.W.Wallerstatedthatalthoughthedifficultiesinvolvedinanalysinganddescribingtherelationship
ofdiscoursetoitsgraphicarrayarechallenging,theyarenotinsurmountable,andthemoreskilfuluseoftextualcommunicationthatmightfollowfromsuchan
effortwouldleadtoconsiderablesocialandeducationalbenefits(282).

Someauthorsofhybridtextshavealsodescribedthisgapinknowledge.AsPolkobserves,MarkZ.Danielewski,authorofhybridnovelssuchasHouseofLeaves
(2000),statedinaninterviewthat

hedidntthinkthecriticalvocabularyexistedyettotalkabouthisbook,forthemodelsofcriticalanalysistraditionallyusedtocritiquefictiondidntcontainthe
toolstoexaminethelayoutofhisstoryIfDanielewskiiscorrect,thenthereexistsavacuumincriticalliteratureforanalyzingsuchworksthatseemtobe
becomingmoremainstreamandgarneringmoreandmoreacclaim(1).

Likethecriticsmentionedabove,Danielewskihasidentifiedagaparoundthecriticismofhybridtexts.

Analysingthevisualplayfulnessinhybridtexts
Anumberofcriticshaveeffectivelydescribedandclassifiedthedifferentkindsofgraphicdevicesinliteraryfiction,butthereisstillaneedforamoreexplicit
analysisofwhatGuoreferstoasthesystemsandfunctionsthatunderlietheuseofvisualimages(196).Forreasonsofscopethisarticlewillprovideataxonomy
ofoneparticularaspectofgraphicdevices:thewaysinwhichtheyemphasisethevisualnatureofbooksbybreakingtheconventionsofillustratednovels.Analysing
howhybridtextsexperimentwithearliermodelsofwordimageinteractionrevealshowtheyforegroundtheirgraphicdevicesandencouragethereadertoreconsider
thefamiliarobjectofthebook.

ReneRieseHubertdescribesthebasicpatternofillustratedfictioninthenineteenthcentury:theverbalandthevisualretainedtheirassignedspaceandfunction,
confront[ed]eachotheronoppositepagesorinhorizontaljuxtapositionTheillustrationssoughttogivethevisualequivalentofthewordstowhichtheywere
subservient(qtd.inSchiff5).IllustratedfictionincludesbothearlynovelsbywriterssuchasCharlesDickensandWilliamMakepeaceThackeray,andillustrated
editions,inwhichillustrationsareaddedtoexistingworks.Illustratededitionshavethecapacitytobeproducedaftertheoriginalpublicationofthebook,oreven
aftertheauthorsdeath.

Theverbalandvisualmodestendtobemorecloselylinkedinhybridtextsinillustratedfictionwordsandimagesstandsidebyside,usuallyonseparatepages,
althoughoccasionallytheyfeaturemorecomplexarrangementsofwordsandimagesonthesamepage(Schiffibid).AccordingtoSchiff(ibid),muchillustrated
fictiondoesnotsubstantiallychallengeanovelisticreadingpractice.Illustrationsarenotalwaysanintegralpartofthenarrativebecause,asSadokierskiargues,
theycanbeaddedorremovedindifferenteditionswithoutsignificantlyaffectingcomprehensionofthestory.Theillustrationsaresupplementaryadditionstothe
primarytext(25).Similarly,Schiffstatesthatillustrationsarecommonlydefinedasincidentaladditionstothewordswhichrepresentorrepeataspectsofthe
writtenmaterial.While[illustrations]createadifferentaffectforthework,andaidthereadersimagination,theydonotsignificantlyaddtotheworks
interpretation,butmostlyreifytheauthorswordsinimageform(113).

Howarecontemporarywriterssubvertingconventionsinordertoweaveimagesandtypographyintothecoreofthestory?Toanswerthisquestion,wehaveto
considerhowvisualelementsthatbreakwithconventionareemphasisedorforegrounded.AsSadokierskistates,whenanauthorbreakstheconventionstheyhave
establishedfortheirnovel,weassumeitisforaparticularpurpose(111).Deviance,anaspectofforegrounding,isacoreconceptinstylistics,describinghow
deviancesfromthenormwarrantattention(Gibbons4).Graphicdevicesthatsubverttraditionalconventionsareforegroundedbecausetheybreakreader
expectationthisdrawsthereadersattentiontothemandhighlightstheirsignificance.Morespecifically,Feiusesthetermmarkednesstodescribeverbalorvisual
elementsthatstandoutasanatypicalchoice(233).Shearguesthat,inaspecificformsuchashybridtexts,aparticularselectionofappropriatetypographyis
expected.Inaddition,becauseoftheassociationofcertaintypographywithparticulargenres,anydeparturefromtheconventionormismatchbetweentypography
andgenrewouldrenderthosetypographicalchoicesasmarked(ibid).

Somecriticshavediscussedthedifferencesbetweenconventionalbookdesignandthegraphicdevicesinhybridtexts.Forexample,Whiteexploresthesenseof
defamiliarisationcreatedbythesedevices(10).Similarly,vanPeerexaminestypographicforegroundinginpoetry,andcomparesittolinguisticforegrounding:
centraltothenotionof[typographic]foregroundingisthecharacteristic,typicallyencounteredinliterarytexts,ofdeviatingfromrulesandhabits,whileatthesame
timedisplayingunusualregularitythroughpartialrepetition(50).However,thereisaneedtocategorisethespecificwaysinwhichgraphicdeviceschallengethe
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readersexpectations.

Levenstonsuggestspunctuationinliterarytextscandeviatefromthenorminanumberofways:iconically,symbolically,throughpatterning,byomission,andin
relationtoclosure(7).Iconically,thestyleofpunctuationcanmatchtheeventsdescribed.Forexample,inEverythingisIlluminated(2005),JonathanSafranFoer
usespunctuationtovisuallyrepresentafrozenmomentintimethatoccurswhenasmallJewishvillageisbombed.Pages270and271consistalmostentirelyoffull
stops,withafewfragmentsofdescriptionscatteredthroughout.Thesepagesaresuggestiveofthehaltintimebecausetheyareprimarilyspatial,asopposedtolinear
ortemporal.ThusFoerextendsthefamiliarsymboloftheellipsis()toanalmostabsurdlengthinordertorepresentthefracturingoftimeinthenarrative,andhis
ownreluctancetodescribetheeventsthatfollow.

AmoreextremeexampleoftypographymirroringthenarrativeoccursinIrvineWelshsFilth(1998).Mostofthenoveliswrittenfromthepointofviewofa
misanthropicpoliceofficernamedBruce,butsmallsectionsarealsonarratedbyatapewormlivinginsidehim.Thetapewormspointofviewintrudesintothe
policemansasthenovelprogressesthetapewormgraduallybeginstooverlapandtakeover.Thetapewormsthoughtswhichareframedbysquigglylines
indicatingthewallsofBrucesintestinesstarttoblockoutBrucesnarration.Thesquigglylinesalsoresembleparentheses,whichisaclevervisualpunbecause,
muchlikeapairofparentheses,theirfunctionistoseparatethetwotexts.Thetapewormsnarrativeiswritteninbold,centred,sanseriftext,which,combinedwith
itsverysmalllinelengths,givesitanappropriatelyclaustrophobicfeel.Welshwritesthissectioninboldtosuggestthatthetapewormistakingoverthepolice
officeranddisruptinghisthoughts.Asthemaincharactersmentalandphysicalhealthdeclinesthroughoutthenovel,thetapewormssectionsgrowwiderand
longeruntiltheyfilltheentirepage.Again,thespatialarrangementofthevoicesisiconic:thetapewormsstoryoverlapsBruces,butisalsosurroundedandframed
byit,mirroringthetapewormspositionwithinthepolicemansbody.Thetypographythereforereflectshow,bytheendofthenovel,thetapewormhasbecome
dominantoverBruce.

Omissionreferstoinstanceswhereexpectedpunctuationmarksareleftout,suchasinthefinalchapterofJamesJoycesUlysses(1922),whichincludesonlytwo
fullstopsandthereforerepresented,atthetimeofwriting,thelongestsentenceinEnglishliterature(4,391words).

Patterningoccurswhenaparticularpunctuationmarkisrepeatedthroughoutastoryorpoem.Forexample,JohnBarthsshortstoryMenelaiad,fromthecollection
LostintheFunhouse(1968),includesanumberofspeakerstellingstorieswithinstories,graduallyaccruingeachothersquotationmarks,untilatonepointthereare
sevenquotationmarksaroundthetext.

Closurerelatestotheabsenceofcapitallettersorfullstopsatthestartorendofsentences.WilliamGoldingusesthistechniqueinthefinalsceneofThePaperMen
(1984),wherethemaincharacterglimpsesamanpointingagunathimandthencutsoffmidsentence,suggestinghehasbeenshot.Thistechniqueisoftenusedat
theendofanarrativetoleavethereaderhanging,searchingforthemissingconvention.Levenstononlydiscussestheseforegroundingtechniquesinrelationto
punctuation(7),butIargueasimilarcategorisationcanbeappliedtoallgraphicdevices.

Ihaveidentifiedsixmainwaysinwhichthevisualelementsinhybridtextssubvertconventions:exaggeration,alteration,repetition,deletion,combinationandthe
adoptionofconventionsfromotherforms.Thistaxonomyallowsforamoresystematicmethodofidentifyinggraphicdevicesandunderstandingwhytheyare
foregroundedagainstconvention.

Exaggerationoccurswhenthesizeorcomplexityoftraditionalgraphicdevicesisembellished.Forexample,JeffVanderMeersshortstorycollectionCityofSaints
andMadmen(2002)exaggeratesconventionaldecorationsbyincludingextremelydenseandintricatepseudoVictorianbordersanddecorationsonalmostevery
page.InSalvadorPlascenciasThePeopleofPaper(2005),thelengthofacolumnoftextisexaggeratedwhenitliterallyrunsoffthebottomofthepagethis
emphasisesthefictionalnatureofthecharacterbysuggestingthatwithoutpaperandinkhewouldnotexist.Finally,inAlasdairGraysnovelPoorThings(1992),
insteadofendingherletterswithasingleasterisk,oneofthecharactersinsertsahugetriangleofasterisks,revealingherexuberanceandimmaturity.Thistechnique
isoftenusedtocreateastrikingorimpressivevisualeffect.Itissometimestakentoextremes,asinthehundredsofpagesofappendicesinMarkZ.Danielewskis
HouseofLeaves(2000),whichdisorientthereaderbypresentingthemwithlargeamountsofcomplexverbalandvisualinformation.

Followingonfromthisisalteration:therearrangingorreshapingofconventionalvisualdevices.AnexampleisthetypographicmanipulationsinRaymond
FedermansDoubleorNothing(1971)thestandardrectangularblocksoftextinprintedfictionarerearrangedintohundredsofdifferentshapesthroughoutthe
novel.Thelinedirectionisalteredsothatitmovesupanddown,orrighttoleftparagraphsareshapedintostars,trianglesandotherforms.Inoneoftheshort
storiesfromhiscollectionTheAcidHouse(1994),IrvineWelshdescribesamanandwomanwholiveinthesameapartmentbuildingandfantasiseabouteachother
withouteverexpressingtheirdesires.Welshalterstheconventionofasinglecolumnoftextbydividingthepageintotwoverticalcolumns,withthemansthoughts
ontheleftsideandthewomansontheright.Thislayoutreflectstheironyoftheirspatialproximityandsharedfeelings,contrastedwiththeirlackofsocial
connection.ThistechniqueistakentoanextremeinSalvadorPlascenciasThePeopleofPaper.Eachchapterhasone,two,orthreecolumnspertwopagespread,
andeachcolumnisnarratedbyadifferentcharacter.Attheendofthenovelthemaincharacters,whoaresickoftheauthorspyingonthem,decidetowagewaron
himbyarrangingtheircolumnsintostrategicformationsthatforcehimoutofthebookbyusingupallthewhitespace.Asaresult,thetwopagespreadsnearthe
endofthenovelhaveuptoninecolumnsofvaryinglengthsandwidths.Thefinalpagesareverycrowdedandrequiresomeefforttoread,buttheyalsogivethe
narrativeasenseofmomentum.

Alterationisoftenusedinquitearadicalway,becauseitinvolvesfundamentallyalteringparticularconventionstosuittheauthorsneeds.Thenewshapes,colours
orarrangementsthatresultareoftensymbolic,echoingthemesorimagesfromthewrittentext.Forexample,thetypesizeinMarkZ.DanielewskisOnly
Revolutions(2006)isdesignedintandemwiththephysicalstructureofthebook.Thesamestoryistoldfromthepointofviewoftwodifferentcharacters.Thetwo
versionsofthestorystartatoppositeendsofthebookandarepresentedoneabovetheotheronthepageoneisupsidedown,andtheotheristherightwayup.The
publishersuggeststhereadershouldreadeightpagesofthefirstcharactersnarration,thenturnthebookupsidedownandreadeightpagesofthesecondcharacters
narration,andsoon.Thetypesizeofeachstorystartsoffverylargethefirstpageofeachstoryconsistssolelyofthenarratorsinitialbutgraduallyshrinksover
thecourseofthenovel.Becauseeachstorystartsatadifferentendofthebook,thesecondstorystypesizeexpandsasthefirststorystypesizeshrinks,andvice
versa.Theresultisaverycomplicatedreadingprocesshowever,thearrangementofthetextandtheresultingreadingmechanicsareclearlysuggestiveofthe
powerfulbondbetweenthemaincharacters.AsDanielewskipointsout,thenovelmovesfrommechanismtomotiontomood(OnlyRevolutions1).

Insomehybridtextsfamiliardevicesaresimplyrepeatednumeroustimes.Forexample,towardstheendofThePeopleofPaperthetitleanddedicationpagesare
repeatedbecausethenarratordecidesthestoryneedstostartalloveragain.Thiscallsattention,alongwithmanyothermetafictionaldevices,totheconstructedness
ofthetext.Similarly,onthefinalpageofShaneJonessLightboxes(2010),thewordsTheEndarerepeatedseveraltimes.Thisisoftendoneforhumorouseffect,
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ortoslowthepaceofthenarrative.

Theoppositetechnique,basedonLevenstonsomissionandclosure,isthedeletionorerasureofanexpectedgraphicconvention.InRobertoBolaosnovellaBy
NightinChile(2000)andWillSelfsnovelUmbrella(2012),paragraphbreaksareomittedtheentirenarrativeispresentedasasingleparagraph.Mathiasnard
takesthisastepfurtherinhisnovelZone(2010),whichispresentedasonesentence,withasinglefullstopattheendofthenovel.AsLevenstonpointsout,this
techniqueisofteniconic,andcanalsogenerateanticipationbydenyingasenseofclosure.

Finally,graphicdevicesmaycombinetwoormorevisualconventions,oruseoneconventiontofulfilthefunctionofanother.ThecoverofDaveEggerssYouShall
KnowourVelocity(2002)performsthefunctionusuallyassignedtothefirstpageofanovel:insteadofacoverimageandtitle,itcontainsthebeginningofthe
protagonistsnarration.ThisrecallsthecoverofRichardBrautigansTroutFishinginAmerica(1967),whichfeaturesablackandwhitephotooftheauthorandhis
museMichaelaBlakeGrand.ThisphotoisreferredtothroughoutBrautigansnovel,andallsubsequenteditionshavebeenprintedwithitonthecover(although
latereditionsofEggerssnovelshiftthebeginningofthestoryfromthecovertothefirstpage).InJeanetteWintersonsSexingtheCherry(1989),imagesof
differentfruitsareusedtoidentifythemultiplenarrators.Inthiscasevisualimagesperformafunctiontraditionallyperformedbyatitle,headingorthewrittentext
itself.Thistechniquecanrevealnewpotentialsforwordsandimagesbyusingthemtoperformfunctionsusuallyassignedtotheother.

Althoughhybridtextsoftenexperimentwiththetraditionalappearanceofprintedliteraryfiction,somealsosubverttheconventionsofotherforms,suchasnon
fiction,comicsandscripts.KressandvanLeeuwenproposethatcreatorsoftextsconstantlyimportsignsfromdifferentcontextsothererasorculturestosignify
ideasorvaluesassociatedwiththesecontexts(10).Forexample,RichardKostelanetzdiscusseshowmanyoftheavantgarde,hybridtextsproducedinthe1970s
turntheformsandtrappingsofliteraryscholarshipintoironicfictionordependuponeithermaterialorstructurestakenfromoutsideliterature(85100).

Levenstonarguesthatwritersexperimentwiththeseotherformsinthreeways(113).Thefirstisswitchingtypographicallypresentingthenarrativeassomeother
literaryformsuchasdramaorverse.Thesecondtechniqueisimportingnormsfromother,nonliterary,typographicalgenres:newspapers,advertisements,learned
articles,sacredtexts.Theusualpurposeofsuchdeviationsintoothernormsistoaddverisimilitude(ibid).Forexample,LeanneShaptonsImportantArtifactsand
PersonalPropertyfromtheCollectionofLenoreDoolanandHaroldMorris,IncludingBooks,StreetFashion,andJewelry(2009)ispresentedasanauction
catalogue,withphotographsof325personaleffectsthatLenoreandHaroldhavedecidedtosellafterbreakingup.Thestoryoftheirrelationshipgraduallyemerges
fromthecaptionsunderneatheachitem.ThisintriguingformatbringstomindVladimirNabokovsPaleFire(1962),inwhichthenarrativeiswovenoutofthe
biographicalnotesaccompanyingapoem.Finally,writersmaytransformconventions:Onlybydiscardingallthenormaltypographicalconventionsofliterarytext,
proseorverse,andstartingfromscratchwithatotallynewconceptofthepotentialofprint,cananytrulyinnovativeuseoflayoutforsemanticpurposesbeginto
takeplace(Levenston114).

ItisunclearwhatLevenstonmeansbydiscardingalltypographicconventionsthisseemslikeanalmostimpossibletask,sincethevisualpresentationofliterary
worksandtheirassociatedreadingpracticesaredeeplyingrainedwithinsociety.Itishardtoimaginewhatsuchatextwouldlooklike,letalonehowthereader
wouldapproachit.Ithereforeusethethirdcategorytransformingtorefertodevicesthatimportconventions,butalsosubvertsomeoftheseconventionsusing
oneormoreofthefivetechniquesdescribedabove.Forexample,thetextinGrahamRawlesWomansWorld(2005)isacollageofwordsandphrasescutoutof
thousandsofvintagewomensmagazines.Rawlesnovelimportsthetypographicalconventionssuchastypesize,typefaceandtypecolourfromthisotherform,
butitalsoalterstheseconventionsbyarrangingthetextintounusuallayouts.

Thereissomeoverlapbetweenthesecategories.Forexample,inExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyClose(2005)andMadelineGinssWordRain(1969),linespacing
isdecreaseduntilwordsrunoverthetopofeachotherandbecomeillegible.InthecaseofExtremelyLoudandIncrediblyClose,thenarratorisattemptingtowrite
downhisexperienceoftheDresdenbombings,andthedecreaseinlinespacingrepresentshisinabilitytodescribehistraumaticpast(heisalsomute).Thiscouldbe
describedaseitherexaggeratingtheamountofwordsonthepage,orerasingtheconventionoflinespacing.However,thesecategoriesallowthereadertopinpoint
moreaccuratelyhowadevicedisruptsfamiliarreadingpractices,andwhateffecttheauthorintendstoachieve.

Conclusion
HartmutStcklobservesthatlinguisticreflectionontypographywouldhavebeenuselesstocreativewriterstwentyyearsago,whentypographywasfirmlyinthe
handsofatrainedelite(213).Graphicdesignhastraditionallybeenseenassomethingthathappensafterabookiswritten.However,intodayssociety,the
majorityofcreativewritersusedesktoppublishing,andmanyarepublishingtheirworkineBooksorontheInternet.Thestudyofhybridtextshasbecome
increasinglysignificantasthesetoolsallowwriterstomaketheirownchoicesaboutthevisualpresentationoftheirwork.PaulC.GutjahrandMeganL.Benton
arguethatasmoderntechnologyincreasinglyempowerswriterstocreatetheirowntypography,itbecomesmoreimportantthanevertounderstandhowauthorial
involvementfurtherrevealsthedynamicpoweroftypetoinflectliterarycontent(14).

Thisarticlehasdiscussedjustoneaspectofhowhybridtextschallengetraditionalreadingpracticesandencouragereaderstoreevaluatetheprocessofreadingand
theobjectofthebookitself.Readersengagewithhybridtextsincomplexways,interpretingandanalysingtypographyandvisualimagesaswellasthewrittenword.
Imagesandtypographycanreinforce,alterorevendisruptthereadersunderstandingofthenarrative.Thevisualdesignofthewrittentextcanperformmany
functions,suchasmorphingtoreflectorcontrastwiththeaction,suggestingconnectionsbetweendisparateelements,orhighlightingaspectsofthecharactersinner
lives.Readersneedtodrawonvisualliteracyskillsthatareusuallyassociatedwithmoredesignorientedforms,suchasnonfictionorhypertexts.Readersofhybrid
textsneedtobeabletoidentifyanddecipheramyriadofvisualcluestogetherwithlinguisticones.Manyauthorshavealreadyemployedphotographs,sketches,
diagrams,flipbooks,typographicelements,whitespace,codes,symbols,founddocumentsandotherephemeratoreinforceandinvigoratetheirfiction,and,nowthat
changeswithinthepublishingindustryareplacingthetoolsforcreatingvisualtextsinauthorshands,thecomingyearscouldseemanymoreexamplesofthis.As
developmentsindigitaltechnologyenablewriterstocreateandpublishhybridtextsmorequicklyandeasily,thereismuchpotentialforthealreadyrichscholarship
onthisformtoflourish.

Forexample,in2013Kendall,PortelaandWhiteeditedaspecialeditionoftheEuropeanJournalofEnglishStudies,withpapersanalysinggraphicdevicesina
varietyofcontexts,suchaspoetry,contemporaryliterarynovelsandmedievaltexts.Theeditorsarguethat

iftextisnolongerapproachedasthetransparentmediumthatweareaccustomedto,thenouracceptedandconventionalconceptionsofreading,writing,publishing,
and,indeed,educatingaredestabilised.Engagingwithtextasavisualphenomenonallowsustoseehowithasbeenused,howitisbeingusedandhowcurrent
usagemaybechangingus(6).
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Thegrowingawarenessofandopennesstodesignconsciousliteraturehasalreadybeguntochangethewaywritersandreadersthinkaboutthenovel,andthereare
stillmanyavenuesofexperimentationtobeexplored.

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