Will Self, Kafka's Wound: A Digital Literary Essay

An interactive online essay with digital footnotes

Will Self, 'Kafka's Wound: A Digital Essay'

Wow. What a fascinating idea. Interactive cultural hub "The Space" has just posted Will Self's interactive online essay, 'Kafka's Wound: A Digital Essay'.  Written on commission from the London Review of Books (LRB), the project outlines Self's interest in Kafka's short story, 'A Country Doctor'. His preparation for the essay has been the source of some reflection, recounted in a blog he kept before the piece was published [Read More].

What is remarkable about the essay is the extent to which it utilises multimedia to tell its story. Self's digital footnotes can be accessed as one reads, and to some degree they recall the fiction of W. G. Sebald (to say nothing of Self's recent work). Among the extras is a complete English translation of the Kafka story itself, along with academic commentaries on the work; there are a number of musical works, complete with analysis; there is documentary footage (including a one-hour film of Self's recent trip to Prague); a fascinating panel discussion with two leading translators; not to mention archival photographs, clips of recent Kafka debates, and even an online game! [Read More]

Also at A Piece of Monologue:

• Writers: Will Self
• Writers: Franz Kafka
• Will Self: Kafka's Wound
• Judith Butler: How to Read Kafka
• Francis Bacon: Free e-book
• Free Penguin Classics iPad App
• Jack Kerouac's On the Road as iPad app
• T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land as iPad app