Literary and musical dialoguing : sound, voice, and screen synergies

Sound, particularly the relationship between words and music, seems to be an under-explored area in electronic literature, where the emphasis has tended to be more strongly on the relationship between words and images. Exploring the interface between words and music is central to my writing, however, and to my work in electronic literature. My interest in sound originates from my previous career as a professional violinist in London during the 1970s and 80s, before I emigrated from Britain to Australia. When I write, sound often suggests the words that I might use, and my strong interest in literary form springs partly from my musical sensibility. Unsurprisingly, then, electronic literature for me is always a multisensory experience. My practice is cross-media and collaborative, involving musicians, visual artist, and writers, and based in the sound and multimedia group austraLYSIS. This essay will focus on some of my collaborations with musician Roger Dean, the director of austraLYSIS, who like me was born in Britain and moved later (with me) to Australia. But it will also include our-sometimes transnational-collaborations with others, in particular with Australian musician Greg White, Australian writer Anne Brewster, US video artist Will Luers, and British ceramicist Joanna Still.