July 20, 2008
TECHNOS QUARTERLY Winter 2002 Vol. 11 No. 4
Message to Johannes Gutenberg
I
gather from learned books I ’ve read
that your historic claims are rather overblown.
But be that as it may. We are still prone to credit you
with inventing the first printing press
in the bustling western world.
The Chinese.of course.were at it
long before you put ink to paper.
But in all events technology
always moves on.
toward endless change.
And
page printing has already begun
to lose its pre-eminence
to electronic screens
bearing letters of every variety
the wide world over.
Their numbers and outputs
staggering the mind. Disembodied
although they often seem.
Magnifying mass publishing.
While shattering it simultaneously.
With countless personal samizdats.
On Desks. Laps. In Pockets.
On hand-held Gadgets otherwise resembling
tiny wireless telephones.Which also mock giddily
chatty grenades.
Some publications are now leviathan.
In their display dimensions. As well as scope and reach.
Giant
stadia can cheer looming messages in a single glance.
Right or left. Straight ahead.
At the back. Or overtop.
Monochrome. Or multi-color.
Still or animated.
Monophonic or multi-track.
And of course. Hypertexted. Interactive. And Malleable On-demand.
I am looking forward to linking
with the new TECHNOS On-line.
But I will miss the nice old magazine
Lying on my coffee table.
Quite Truthfully.
George Hall
Raleigh, North Carolina
24 November 2002
Illustrations by Bill Dillon