Intentionally Offline: Writers' project turns its back on the digital world
Niamh Bagnell will be joined in Bantry this week by a number of other writers involved in the Intentionally Offline project. Picture: Bríd O'Donovan
Described as “an art, heart & literary annual unlike any other,” writer Niamh Bagnell’s Intentionally Offline (IO) project should be quite a talking point at the West Cork Literary Festival. Bagnell, a writer, invited writers and artists to create something entirely non-digital, in keeping with her concerns about the way the online world cuts authors/artists off from their own creative thinking processes. The result is an attractive book that is not online and is not a PDF. It can’t be downloaded, screenshot or shared (an image of it can of course be shared but Bagnell is asking people not to do that.) It must be touched, held and read.
Bagnell says: “The whole purpose of art for me is to reveal and help us understand our humanity. How can we replace that with something that is not of human origin?”
Over 30 contributors that Bagnell contacted (admittedly by email but with no further digital input) physically posted, couriered or hand-delivered their creations to her. A broad mix of methods and materials arrived in Bagnell’s letter-box. Resourceful writers and artists used teabag paper, needle and thread, paint, leaves, seeds, type-written manuscripts, handwritten ones as well as employing burning, cutting and pasting of paper in their contributions.
“Niamh Boyce wrote a piece which involved burning some of the paper she used which is tied to what is going on in the story," says Bagnell. "The story itself is brilliant to read. Madeleine D’Arcy sent me a piece of writing about the process of typing on paper. It’s called ‘Honesty’ and she includes an honesty seed pod to illustrate her story. Some people sent me beautifully hand-written pieces, decorated and so on. Some sent me very rough drafts, showing the process of how they edited their work. Some writers certainly have good penmanship.”
One of the contributors is a poet from the US, Jason Stoneking, who used to be based in Paris. He told Bagnell that before he ever sat down to create a piece for IO, he had started physically hand-writing everything.
“He feels that when producing a book of poetry which is written in different moods and environments, each copy looks the same. But Jason feels a work of art should be more unique. He sent me a piece which is a reflection on Paris in the springtime and in the autumn. The handwriting is beautiful. He actually does commissions of handwritten work, creating handwritten portraits of people. It’s for the person who has everything.”
Writer Nuala O’Connor sent Bagnell a collage under the heading ‘Women Know Their Place'. It includes text from magazines such as phrases like ‘the good life.’
“Part of the fun is seeing what people sent me. I really expected a story from Nuala,” says Bagnell.
Writer and comedian Maeve Higgins went to the trouble of sewing lines of poetry onto a piece of cloth, a bit like embroidery. It’s a quote from Jamaican-American poet and essayist, Claudia Rankine, expressing an anti-war message.
Billy O’Callaghan, the short fiction writer and novelist, handwrote a story entitled ‘On the Road to Bantry after a Dance.’
“Bagnell is making 500 copies of the book (with the original up for auction in aid of Medecins san Frontieres). She was told by Carrig Print’s John Waterman that the book is “too nice” to just scan on an industrial scanner.
“So we went for a specialist scanner which reflects the contents. You get to see the textures and everything that’s there in the original.”
It was an expensive process, a labour of love for Bagnell, although she got some support from Cork County Council. Putting the book together was a tricky experience at times. "There was a bit of waiting around. There were other people who were keen on contributing but didn’t make it.“
For example, a Hungarian writer made three attempts to go to the post office but was stymied by queues on social security payment days.
Staying offline might be a difficult approach to modern life, but it certainly has its merits. Perhaps a hybrid approach to technology is a solution? Bagnell and her husband, who have two children aged 12 and 14, used to have what they called 'Screen-Free Sundays'.
“We took a day off from our screens which was great. We may do it again. I’m always concerned about what the kids are looking at. The closest thing to the io project is the zine movement. Meeting up and putting together little magazines seems like a lovely thing to do.”
- The IO, intentionally offline, exhibition is at Bantry Library for the duration of the West Cork Literary Festival (July 10-17) with a discussion on July 15 at 5pm where Niamh Bagnell will be joined by Niamh Boyce, Maeve Higgins and Billy O’Callaghan. See www.westcorkmusic.ie/literary-festival/io-intentionally-offline/
