rem@homxa.UUCP (03/19/84)
For people interested in computer-aided art, I manipulated a small, unpublished novel of mine called ABRACADABRA a few years ago. The book is a mystery derived from childhood experiences in St. Louis. I call the manipulated book ABRACADABRA CADAVER. Chapter-by-chapter I wrote UNIX shell programs to alter the text according to its con- tents: for example, in an early chapter I misspelled all words as a child might do. In another I inserted German proverbs appropriate to my father's speech in all of his conversations. Another repeats key phrases again and again, in a minimalist way; another puts all dialog into footnotes; another, where the mystery unfolds, cryptically reverses the sentences throughout--and so on. After editing the end results, I came up with a Joycean-like book that is quite readable and interesting as a literary document. I no longer have it on-line, but if anyone is interested, I can provide more details. And, of course, if anyone knows of a publisher crazy enough..... Bob Mueller BELLCORE Holmdel, NJ