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I once heard a scientist who loves poetry say, the language of science and the language of poetry have in common that they are both natural languages under stress. } — JOAN RETALLACK

   You are entering a language laboratory — a hypertext poem organized according to the periodic table of elements. By selecting and combining elements you can cause a poetic reaction.

   Click on any element symbol and a poem (made from language associated with the selected element) will appear. A word randomly chosen from the poem will translate into a picture (Zhivago's clock keeps time while the picture forms).

   Click the "ADD" tab if you would like the chosen element to be part of your final reaction. Add as many elements as you like before selecting a process which will cause the elements to turn into a new poem.

   If you would like to know more about the procedures and how they mimic chemical processes, click on the name of the process.

   Every once in a while, fragments of Zhivago's testimony will appear at the bottom of the frame.

Poetry and concept: Jena Osman / Programming and design: Sean O'Donnell, Vladimir Zykov
Optimized for 1280x800 or higher screen resolution and the latest version of Chrome or Firefox
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2011 Jena Osman, All Rights Reserved.

This project was supported in part by a grant from Temple University.