DEATH OF THE AUTHOR? The author kills himself in the hypertextual world. One can no more define the author by what is seen in cyberspace. There is no clear distinction in cyberspace that this is the work of an author and that is the work of another's. Moreover, how can one define an author from his works or from his name? 'It [The author's name] is more than a gesture, a finger pointed at someone; it is, to a certain extent, the equivalent of a description' - Michel Foucault, What is an Author? |
|
A description may be enough to describe an author, but in the hypertextual world, such description merely gives the reader the status of an author. The reader defines the boundaries of a work. In doing so, he confines the different authors whose individual work appears within the boundaries. In addition, the reader is also part of an author. He defines the meaning of this new 'work'. The notion of an author becomes a hybrid form: a combination of many authors into one. Example
