Personal reader & annotated bibliography
- Collection of texts/works (in whichever way you would like to include it (section/whole text/...), How is the original present in the reader?)
- Synopsis *
- Why is this important to my research/work *
- Annotations and notes
--> format: up to you
Annotated bibliography exercise:
First reference: LOST IN TRANSMISSION by KATE DONOVAN & GABI SCHAFFNER
“Some say that there was a quickening,
And that the Earth’s core bubbled and burped to release the egg,
And that the soft, brittle egg cracked to release the worm -
The double worm of two entwined in one -
To let it slither out and go underground,
To disperse through all elements and up through the aether,
Burrowing down and emerging up at the same time.
But the sun and rocks and stars know that there was radio even before that,And nuclear waste (among other things) will go on to tell our more-than-human successors of the future,
That there will still be radio, even then.”
Taken from RADIO ECOLOGIES – LOST IN TRANSMISSION by KATE DONOVAN & GABI SCHAFFNER
Source: https://archive.org/details/814_RadioX_Donovan_Schaffner_RadioEcologies
Synopsis:
This is part of a description taken from a radio artwork by Kate Donovan and Gabi Schaffner. The text, written in the format of a poem, describes the origin of radio. The description takes on an ecological approach, comparing radio waves to that of a worm travelling through the earth.
This text is important for my findings as it feels like a first step into researching about the transmission of information: tracking back in time to find the source of a research subject helps me understand its history and origin.
-contextualise a bit more-
Second reference: a painting of Lucretia Pickering Walker
Lucretia Pickering Walker, wife of Samuel F.B. Morse, painted by Samuel F.B. Morse. As seen in SAMUEL F. B. MORSE his LETTERS AND JOURNALS.
Source: https://archive.org/details/samuelfbmorsehis01morsuoft/page/n294/mode/1up?view=theater
Synopsis:
The woman in the painting is Lucretia Walker, wife of Samuel Morse. Morse was originally a painter and he had to leave his pregnant wife to go for a trip in order to finish a painting commission. She was due to give birth soon and would communication with her husband by sending letters, which of course, caused delays in their communication. Unfortunately, Lucretia died during childbirth and when Samuel arrived back home, it was too late as their communication was delay and she had already been buried.
I find it fascinating that Samuel went on to invent the morse code because of the frustrations he had while communicating with his wife. He wanted something instant, communicating in real time while being so far apart.
Once again, putting this image into my personal reader helps me understand the source of why this mode of communication was invented. I often thought of morse code as a militant way of communicating, but it did originated out of a sense of urgency and tragedy.