LdoD Visual - A Visual Reader for Fernando Pessoa’s Book of Disquiet: An In-Out- In Metaphor

Abstract

There is an increasing use of information visualization techniques in Digital Humanities to support the analysis of literary works. On the other hand, the rise of digital reading on the web as well as the development of dedicated e-book readers has triggered a variety of hardware and software solutions to provide new reading environments and new material engagements with textual forms. In this paper, we propose a new metaphor, In-Out-In metaphor, to support the reading of literary works in a digital medium. Our model integrates information visualization techniques with plain text reading into the reading flow. This approach differs from the well- known dichotomy between close and distant reading because its emphasis is not on supporting the analysis of the texts being read, but on providing a smooth flow between focus and digression, which naturally occurs during a reading experience. We present a solution to read and explore the Book of Disquiet by Fernando Pessoa, an unfinished book composed of a set of modular texts that have been edited in different sequences and which can be read multi- sequentially. The research and design decisions for the visual reader of the Book of Disquiet are meant to provide an appealing, rich and interactive online reading experience through a web- based application, LdoD Visual. The implemented features apply information visualization techniques with an emphasis on exploring the modular nature of the book. Since this is a fragmentary literary work, its reading can be fragmentary as well, but providing a smooth multiple flow reading experience.