In his latest work of media archaeology, Matthew Kirschenbaum charts the techno-cultural ripples (1964-84) caused by the word processor entering the professional literary pool. From Amy Tan's Silicon Valley computer club, to John Updike's ode to software failure "INVALID.KEYSTROKE," to sci-fi author Jerry Pournelle's hand-built computer that calculated the physics of his fantastic worlds-Kirschenbaum harnesses interviews and archival research to survey popular authors as they build, embrace, and struggle against their machines. The most intriguing chapters of Track Changes are those in which Kirschenbaum argues for a word processor-centric criticism. In chapter 2, for example, he probes how the devices' functionality (deleting, copying, pasting), output (immaculate pages), and even names (e.g., Word Perfect) fortify a logic of clean, efficient language. Where some authors like King and Clancy embrace this power, leading to massive yields, others guard the messy craft of typewriters and hand editing; still others, like novelist Russell Banks, see creativity and efficiency working hand-in-hand: "I find that I can noodle and doodle and be much more spontaneous... the faster I can write, the more likely I'll get to something worth saving" (p. 46). Of course, Kirschenbaum quickly points out the determinism of such claims. Rather, what really matters is how word processors mediatize writing. That is, when the featured authors of Track Changes reflect on their machines, they often reflect on what writing means as well. Yet, for readers who want deeper analysis along these lines or wider engagements with the historical context (e.g., class and race) that influenced the rise of the processor, that's not this book's interest. Track Changes is largely descriptive. Deeply interesting, yes, but focused on collecting authors' stories rather than interrogating them.
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