Tuesday, March 29, 2011

All the News That...


Linotype: each letter
a metallic piece
of context,
of understanding,
or metal on wood,
selected by hand,
inserted by hand
into large frames
of what will be
consumed with
the morning coffee
and toast.

Fast forward.

Offset: typed and cut,
waxed and pasted up
and placed on a page
to be handed
to the printer;
the news goes faster
if not the context,
if not the understanding,
but faster is better,
especially during
the morning commute.

Fast forward.

Operations
computerized,
if not the context…

Fast forward.

Online:
all the bytes
that fit,
all the time.

Fast…

This poem is submitted for One Shot Wednesday, hosted by One Stop Poetry. To see more poems, please visit the site. The links will be live at 4 p.m. today.

Photograph: Newspaper on Beach by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.
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21 comments:

  1. David RupertMarch 29, 2011 at 12:44 PM

    For a second, I thought you were going to sing the praises of the NYT....
    Whew!

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  2. AnonymousMarch 29, 2011 at 12:46 PM

    And what comes after just "Fast" ? At the rate things are going we may know sooner than later...

    Wonderful piece Glynn

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  3. MaureenMarch 29, 2011 at 3:58 PM

    Only a very few of us have probably done all three. In the next fast forward, there's machine directing machine and we receive the latest injection of news via a swipe of the finger across a screen.

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  4. AnonymousMarch 29, 2011 at 4:21 PM

    Nicely done. I was working in publishing for the switch from code driven mainframe to desktop publishing.

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  5. hedgewitchMarch 29, 2011 at 4:31 PM

    "...each letter/a metallic piece/of context,/of understanding..." well, we're a long way from that, almost to where each thing read is a piece without context,of misunderstanding...but the meaning is stillout there if you're willing to search itout, as long as individual humans are sitting tapping it out.Or so I hope. A nicely structured, well-written look at change.

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  6. Karen Kyle EricsonMarch 29, 2011 at 5:06 PM

    I love this poem. I have a secret dream of doing some photojournalism stories. So I can smell the typewriter ink, and the thrill of newspapers printing. I can imagine the wow factor of seeing my work in a real newspaper online. However, I promise to avoid gossip :) and politicians! Also interested in inspirational writing... hmmm God has a plan!

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  7. AnonymousMarch 29, 2011 at 6:22 PM

    i use to work as a paste-up artist...cut and paste of type that i ordered from typesetting, for tektronix user's manuals.

    also worked as illustrator there, drawing with a rapidograph pen. photo graph illustration at a certain percent and paste it up on the page with the type.

    it might be fun to try the linotype...
    http://hrsmithjones.blogspot.com/2011/03/three-things.html

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  8. Monkey ManMarch 29, 2011 at 7:08 PM

    I have had the pleasure to experience each and every one of these forms of typesetting. Nostalgic One Shot.

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  9. signed...bkmMarch 29, 2011 at 8:02 PM

    Nice write Glynn..the New York Times...in times such as these is a lost art - bloggers and I reports have taken over an industry once limited to an elite group....thank you for prayers...bkm

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  10. Louise GallagherMarch 29, 2011 at 8:11 PM

    Nice.

    Very nice.

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  11. UnknownMarch 29, 2011 at 8:43 PM

    fast forward, fast forward, fast, sometimes my head spins with it all, and I can't keep up with all the information out there. Enjoyed this :)

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  12. Brian MillerMarch 29, 2011 at 9:30 PM

    where will we go next...holographic full sensory immersion...maybe...

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  13. Violet N.March 29, 2011 at 11:06 PM

    I love the way the form of your poem grows ever more breathless, almost as if the words are being chased by the "hurry up!" You've done a good job of capturing the effects of progress.

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  14. dsMarch 29, 2011 at 11:34 PM

    Really nice. I like the way each stanza just gets shorter and faster and faster and faster...was all out of breath by the end ;)

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  15. JerryMarch 30, 2011 at 1:06 AM

    The waves of progress keep rolling on like a tsunami carrying away contextual perspective. Nice walk through newspaper history.

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  16. AnonymousMarch 30, 2011 at 3:49 AM

    Not very familiar with the NYT but I always learn something new when I come here. There's no slow in progress, and if there is, you're probably living in the wilds of wales..sigh

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  17. AnonymousMarch 30, 2011 at 8:11 AM

    This is brilliant, Glynn. Nice progression (or, regression?). :)

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  18. CorbieMarch 30, 2011 at 8:46 AM

    Glynn,
    I really enjoyed reading this poem! It was sort of like a time travel. All I could think of was the Printing Press, Typewriters and the way that as time goes on, Technology makes it easier to obtain the written word faster. A whirlwind poem. Thank you for sharing.

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  19. Caren E. SalasMarch 30, 2011 at 9:36 AM

    Now if we could just slow down... I know what you mean, faster faster faster.

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  20. AnonymousMarch 30, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    So what's next? The speed of light--can't go any faster than that. And then what progress will come after that?

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  21. MarshyApril 1, 2011 at 3:29 PM

    this was clever glynn, very clever...a great poem today my friend...cheers pete

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