Re-Imagined Radio begins its 10th season of radio storytelling with an ambitious adaption of “Figurski at Findhorn on Acid,” a pioneering work of electronic literature by Richard Holeton. The radio adaptation is part of the work’s 20th anniversary celebration.
The premier broadcast and livestream will air on KXRW-FM, Vancouver, and KXRY-FM, Portland. Subsequent broadcasts and streams will be provided by local, regional and international broadcast partners. A launch party with Holeton, Barber and others will start at noon Jan. 17 preceding the broadcast. To join and ask questions, go to bit.ly/3sQ1bHy, passcode: 683809.
“Electronic literature is not printed but experienced on the screen of a computing device,” said John Barber, producer and host of Re-Imagined Radio and faculty with WSU Vancouver’s Creative Media and Digital Culture Program. “We’re taking a leap of faith focusing on listening rather than seeing.”
Published in 2001, Holeton’s epic novel is one of the few comic works of hypertext fiction. It features an international cast of characters and is set in the Scottish New Age community of Findhorn. The story channels the cultural experience of the 1970s, when social experiments, drugs and the Vietnam War challenged social norms and values. Upgrades to computing equipment and software over the years made the work inaccessible until it was restored recently by students, staff and faculty in the Electronic Literature Lab at WSU Vancouver.
Barber said the radio adaptation is the first of its kind. “The original work features thousands of links providing many different paths through the story,” he said. “Our radio adaptation provides a focused way to enjoy this fluidity.”
Episodes can be streamed on demand from the Re-Imagined Radio website, www.reimaginedradio.net. Every Sunday, an episode of Re-Imagined Radio is broadcast on KXRW only, drawing from previously broadcast episodes.
Community partners
Re-Imagined Radio draws on community voice actors, Foley artists, musicians, sound artists and engineers. Partners include KXRW-FM, Marc Rose, Martin John Gallagher, Holly Slocum Design and Regina Carol Social Media Management.