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From: rem@homxa.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Computer Manipulated Novel
Message-ID: <212@sri-arpa.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 19-Mar-84 12:36:10 EST
Article-I.D.: sri-arpa.212
Posted: Mon Mar 19 12:36:10 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 25-Mar-84 19:20:07 EST
Lines: 21

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unpublished novel of mine called ABRACADABRA a few years ago.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