Under the term 'RESULTS' would be things such as:

• belief that your project will bring you fame
• belief that your project will bring you fortune
• belief that your project will bring you irresistible acceptance
• belief that your project will bring you love of family and strangers
• belief that your project will bring you a better position somewhere

Writing is an unpredictable profession. One day you are writing a novel, the next you are working in an office or warehouse. One project gets rejected 40 straight times, another project is accepted on the first shot.

Word by word, sentence by sentence, paragraph by paragraph, chapter by chapter a book or novel is constructed.

Whenever I pick up a book and feel the writer has not paid attention to the skill necessary to communicate, I put the book down. The great writer knows how to combine vision and skill.

"Employ your time in improving yourself by other men's writing so that you shall come easily by what others have labored hard for." Socrates

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M e d i t a t i o n s
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Heart:

When natural reason is sacrificed for
   strangeness-
an absurd and empty quest for trifles-
words are numb and loveless
like drifting souls who can never go home.
It's like plucking a thin string near the bridge:
you make harmonies without heart.

Making It New:

Perhaps thoughts and words blend
into a lucid beauty, a lush growth;
they flame like a bright brocade,
poignant as a string orchestra.
But if you fail to make it new
you can only repeat the past.
Even when your own heart is your loom,
someone may have woven that textile before,
and to be honorable and keep integrity
you must disown it despite your love.

From The Art of Writing by Lu Ji (261-303 A.D)

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S h e m T h e P e n m a n
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I'm on a journalism list and there was a hot discussion about 'citizen journalists' emerging from the internet. Some general thoughts culled from these discussions:

1) It is likely that special interests will find audiences on the web--there will be a need to discriminate and have a critical view on what you read on the net.

2) I notice when an event happens, ie. floods in Grand Forks, North Dakota a web page suddenly develops. It provides thorough and useful resources for those who live, have lived, have relatives who live, or plan to live in Grand Forks.

3) The entrepreneurial spirit sees newspapers and broadcast media as vulnerable; a variety of new forms of journalism will arise in the next several decades.

4) The net/web doesn't negate the need for editing, research, and knowledge of the libel laws; it increases them!

5) Any piece of news can now be linked to hundreds of resources that enlighten the curious citizen about that specific piece of news.

----------------------
Web Scene/97
----------------------
Much attention has been paid to a very interesting phenomena/problem on the net. That is, how are 'content providers' going to continue to provide free content? Many netizens feel, with some justification, that content should be factored into the cost of the ISP they pay each month. It is very difficult to get people to pay for content on the web. But free content will disappear unless it is rewarded. According to Robert Seidman banner ads don't do it unless there is a great deal of traffic through that site. The conclusion he makes is that only the big boys or fly-by-night- boys will be able to provide free content. This does not bode well but it really is up to the marketplace.

Copyright is complex enough a subject to keep learning about. Check these sites out:

This features a good overview by Kristina Pfaff-Harris on copyright and the net--it's mostly for teachers to instruct their students.

-- This is a very useful and extensive site based at Stanford University.

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W o r l d C u l t u r e s
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"The most important thing in a work of art is that it should have some kind of focus...there should be some place where all the rays meet, or from which they issue." Leo Tolstoy

-- World Wide Art Resources--they're trying to sell you things but check out all the great links to the riches!

-- World Art Treasures-- Be swept away by this marvelous site!

-- Archeir- Irish Architecture On-line-- this superbly done site presents Irish architecture from every century- one of best looking sites around--concentrates on Dublin.

-- Vromans Gallery is based in Amsterdam--has a variety of exhibitions

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Vol 1 Issue 9 Cyber Oasis July 1997
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
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1-Welcome
2-Manna from the Oasis
3-Heard on the Desert Winds
4-Shem the Penman
5-World Culture
6-etc etc etc
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W e l c o m e - J u l y 1 8, 1 9 9 7
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President Clinton has given official sanction to to Internet/Web and calls it a 'revolution.' The next 10 years are going to be very interesting. Stay tuned.

Gold was discovered in California in 1848 but it took Polk's announcement that the 'rumors were true' in 1849 to set off a mad rush to the gold fields.

To this point it is a 'peoples medium' and is a clean and clear expression of the people both in the marketplace of ideas and the economic marketplace.

Let us look and see some possibilities that exist for writing and literature:

1. vast new audiences who have never been exposed to stimulating writing
2. writers as 'entrepreneur publisher/distributors' rather than underpaid 'outsources' for established publishers
3. writers as sherpas in the vast library of the net/web with their instincts for culture enlightening people around the world.
4. instant access to the feedback of readers
5. new critical perspectives on, not simply the development of the net/web, but the way in which people are using the collision of new resources.
6. writers bringing liberal democratic people out of the morass of a culture drowning in meaningless 'sight and sound' which has created a paranoid and conspiracy-mad society

These are some possibilities. Some of them may even appear absurd. But, writers have the opportunity to throw over whatever the market imposes on them and re-define the nature of their role in society.

Consider this: the Net/Web is initiating a 'creative destruction' of the marketplace; people will be leaping over the boundaries that have been established by the marketplace. They will discover their own ignorance and seek out knowledge to help them overcome it. They will want to become as close to perfection as they can imagine. They will want to become a variety of things they are not. Not only is this natural in an affluent, growing economy but it is natural when new forms of communication come into being.

Human imagination and creativity is now digitalized and zings happily to any node that is open to it. There are great dangers as well. It is a well-known fact that Hitler used the power of radio to shape much of his speech pattern that so mesmerized the Germans in the 30's.

-------------------------

The Mars landing is a splendid event. What greater opening exists for the imagination than the real possibility of exploring the planets and stars; of establishing colonies in space?

If I were travelling through the inner solar system for a couple of years I would make sure I had a full library of DVD's/CD-ROM's packed with everything fellow humans have written, thought, and depicted. I would re-invent my mind in the void of space!
-------------------------------------------------
M a n n a f r o m t h e O a s i s
------------------------------------------------- "Listen carefully to first criticisms of your work. Note just what it is about your work that critics don't like--then cultivate it. That's the only part of your work that's individual and worth keeping." Jean Cocteau -------------------------------------------------

Danny Yee's Book Reviews--hundreds of them! They point to wonderful works that wait to be discovered.

-- definite go to--one of the best- Web Del Sol is making a play at being the prime literary site on the web--

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H e a r d O n T h e D e s e r t W i n d
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"The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new." Samuel Johnson
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Sojourner is on Mars, the economy is hot, and optimism is running high. A sanguine feeling arises about the future. No one fears the aliens any more. We look forward to the day we make contact! A strange, buzzing life has us flying high over the mountains that once made brave men cry. So we are about to enter the 21st century. Can we see the decades of the 21st century before our eyes? Can we see some of the implications embedded in the life around us?

The future is a perfect object to point the imagination at. It is going to happen. The major predictions made 25 years ago (ie. personal computers, internet, dissolution of Soviet Union) have come to pass. In a culture that believes in progress, the future is actively forming itself under our many gazes.

There are techniques that encourage thinking about the future. But it is really a matter of putting an object in front of you and asking, 'what next?'

With almost sensual desire, the mind is pulled into the future to speculate about the nature of life.

The futurist Herman Kahn developed a method he named the Scenario. It is a good technique for writers to know. A Scenario wants to tell a story about the future. Science fiction writing is an example as is the one page description of 'where you want to be' in a year or so. It depends on facts to lay a foundation but then uses facts as a springboard for the imagination to explore all possibilities. Here's a brief outline for you to design a scenario:

• Make a short statement of purpose--
• Make a systemic assessment of the data
• Figure out the factors that influence events around your purpose
• Qualify your statement of purpose- often this means adding more scenarios
• Figure out the internal logic of the events- get criticism for your developing scenario
• Make a description of the present situation
• With all of the above in the hopper start writing a story with the facts and speculations at hand.
• Vary the facts and test your story
• Does the scenario flow; are your conclusions plausible?
• Develop alternative scenarios that ask 'what is the best, worst, and most likely pattern of events in each theme?'

Some well-known scenarios would include, The Republic of Plato, Moore's Utopia, and Huxley's Brave New World.

If you know of a site dedicated to some aspect of the future let me know.

-------------------------------------------------
S h e m T h e P e n m a n
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"The profession of book writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business." John Steinbeck
------------------------
C O P Y R I G H T
------------------------
We can not escape the dread of copyright. The most significant of subjects for writers is probably the least understood. Attorneys have difficulty in explaining the intricacies of the subject. The creator of original material owns the rights to that material. That is easy enough to understand. But, there are ways in which original material can be used by others under a provision known as 'fair use.'

Fair use allows copyrighted material to be used under certain situations. There is no absolute way to determine this and there are more than a few civil cases about it. Fair use would permit a teacher, for instance, to use copyrighted material in a classroom but wouldn't permit the teacher to xerox that material and give it out to the class. Some of the things the courts look at when determining fair use are whether the material was used for commercial purposes, how much material was used, and did its use harm the potential profit the creator could expect from their work. It is always safe and courteous to ask permission from the owner of the copyright even if you think it falls within the domain of fair use.

Here are some more copyright sites on the Web:

- Intellectual Property Magazine--lots of links

-- articles and reviews
------------------------
C D/ R O M' S - an intro
------------------------
The CD/ROM and DVD technologies offer another horizon for writers. CD/ROM's are read-only memory compact discs that many computers are equipped to play. You can put stereo sound, color video clips, as well as written text on them. They are expensive to produce but publishers are looking for writers with a variety of skills and knowledge to develop content.

And later, as the cost of producing this technology comes down, writers will be able to write full books, narrate them, add graphics, add notes, add links, and let their readers pop the whole works into a CD-ROM drive and have fun.
------------------------
S u r v e y- (words to live by)
------------------------
According to the 1997 Price Waterhouse Consumer Technology Survey, more than half of people use the World Wide Web to research and retrieve e-mail. They say, "People want information, not eye candy... Internet users prefer Web sites that educate, enlighten, and add value to their lives."

-------------------------------------------------
W o r l d C u l t u r e s
-------------------------------------------------

Art Bin--Swedish effort--art and literature

-- Indecent Image is a collection of Pre-Raphaelite art that might have a hard time making it through several laws proposed to 'outlaw indecency' on the net --stirring depictions by Rossetti, Waterhouse, Jones, etc.

African Art: Aesthetics and Meaning--go to Exhibitions--needs to be updated--good commentary.
-------------------------------------------------
T h e F i n a l W o r d
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This new technology turns our tendency to be passive upside, down. It demands an aggressive, seeking, open-eyed citizenry to make it work and, even, undo the sorts of passivity that TV has engendered. Don't let the Web become like TV! Allow the Web to act as an anti-toxin to TV and shape your life and aspirations at YOUR depths and not the depths of someone else.

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Vol 1 Issue 10 Cyber Oasis August 1997
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
-------------------------------------------------
1-Welcome
2-Manna from the Oasis
3-Heard on the Desert Winds
4-Shem the Penman
5-World Culture
6-The Final Word
7-etc etc etc
-------------------------------------------------
W e l c o m e - A u g u s t 1 8, 1 9 9 7
-------------------------------------------------

William Carlos Williams said some prescient things about writing. Here's one: "The objective in writing is, to reveal. It is not to teach, not to advertise, not to see, not even to communicate (for that needs two) but to reveal, which needs no other than the man himself."

The act of discovery. The brave act. The act that stares down the extraordinary cynicism, impatience, and massiveness of modern culture. What better act than to grab hold of these modern qualities and say, "you don't know, you don't think, you don't move in ways that startle freedom."

Fabulous places remain undiscovered. There are the oceans and space. There is the undiscovered depths of complexity that presses against us every day. There is the discovery of acts of freedom we never knew existed; acts of creativity that open a window into a new truth, a new clarity.

And then there is the web/net; where sparkling discoveries await the curious! I always keep a notebook by the computer and record my sessions. I want to know how the bridge was built. I have its plans! I want to know how the stars were formed. I have an outline! When I discover things like this I am emptied of a nagging alienation; a ragged sense that existence is a blink of an eye that occurs without my consent. A sense that would drive me from knowledge. A sense that what is before me in the form of structure and objects does not really belong to me and, therefore, has some magical power that is all too often converted to shades of darkness.

------------------------- *Please note that I have some important information about Cyber Oasis in The Final Word. Check it out and respond if the spirit moves you.
-------------------------------------------------
M a n n a f r o m t h e O a s i s
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"A novel is a garden carried in the pocket." Arabian proverb -------------------------------------------------

- The English Server- attractive links to many literary resources

-- Resource Center for Cybercultural Studies--some provocative thoughts going on here.

-- Kairos--A Journal For Teachers of Writing in Webbed Environments--had to throw that in--some good overviews of writing and the web/net

- The Swagazine- This is worth going to--it is good, very good. "If it was created honestly and makes the reader feel glad they took the time to read, we want it." Send material and 3 sentence bio to: submissions@jamesclark.com
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H e a r d O n T h e D e s e r t W i n d
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"I am convinced more and more, day by day, that fine writing is next to fine doing, the top thing in the world." John Keats
-------------------------------------------------
Thots
------------------------
When the rhythm is good we see the blank page or screen as infinite in dimension; as complex as the dreams we long to see again.

Painters are great teachers in the use of space; in that the artist wrestles from the blank canvas a freedom full of toil and joy.

The net/web is not simply a library sans the normal constraints of physical place. It's an open-ended miracle connected together. The habitation of this virtual space will the the most watched phenomena as we go into the 21st Century.

Let's discover the difference between information and cultural resource!

Information is the stock ticker; cultural resource is the man or woman who knows precisely when to buy and when to sell.

Some items for discovery: space, oceans, future, cultures of the world, history of many eras, enclaves tucked away in any large city, the surface of visible moons and planets; anything that stimulates the mind to reach outside of itself.

A stimulated writer grasps the world at once and lets a hundred lit cities energize his or her mind.

Some relatively new experiences: the tactile air corridor, the quick formation of ad-hoc communities, the earth experienced from outside its own boundaries, causal conversations at 600mph, seeing vast amounts of good and bad every day, life free of gravity, getting to know a person who, in the past, would have been hidden by time and space constraints.

Publishing becomes corrupt when the ability to package and promote content is more valuable than the content itself. Content becomes an afterthought since a mass market does exist that will accept any kind of content. All of this has taken an incredible toll of the quality of writing. This is why I think writers should spend much of their non-writing hours figuring out how to make a presence of the web/net. And readers should aggressively pursue the best writing and make it a standard.
-------------------------------------------------
S h e m T h e P e n m a n
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There's a weekly radio broadcast looking for original poetry. Yes, that means you! It's The Poetry Show and is looking for writers to send a tape-recorded session of reading poems. If they like it they will broadcast it on KABF Community Radio on 88.3FM in Little Rock, Arkansas. Simply record yourself reading on a cassette for five to thirty minutes, refrain from any pornographic or racist antics, and send it to them. Send it with a short bio to:
The Poetry Show
KABF Radio
1501 Arch Street
Little Rock, AK 72202

Send along a blank tape if you want to receive a copy of the program when and if your poems are broadcast. Send return postage as well. Good luck!
---------------------------------------
Cyber Oasis received a good notice in the new Net publication, Afterthoughts. Afterthoughts is an entertaining and informative newsletter that looks out for the best interests of netizens. To subscribe to Afterthoughts just send an email message to LdyEndless@aol.com and put subscribe in subject line and your email address in the message area.
--------------------------
Sorry to say that Typo has decided to pack it in.
--------------------------
Briefs from ASJA
--------------------------
From latest issue of Contract Watch; with permission from ASJA:

A writer has won a $2,100 judgment against a magazine publisher for using seven previously published articles on its Website without her approval. TALCOTT COMMUNICATIONS CORP., publisher of FANCY FOODS and other trade magazines, was ordered to pay the writer for failing to appear in a breach-of contract suit earlier this month in New York City Small Claims Court.

"I never licensed Web rights to my articles," the writer told ASJA Contracts Watch. "When I called and pointed that out, the publisher said everything they publish becomes their property unless the writer makes restrictions. I explained that according to the law they had it backward, and their answer to that was silence. They took my article off the site but refused to pay for several months of usage, so I sued. It's a shame when a publisher doesn't respect our work and our rights. It's a shame when we have to look to the judicial system for relief."

A Talcott official gave Contracts Watch a "no comment" on the court judgment, adding only that the company was "trying to work it out" with the victorious freelancer.

*****

In a similar recent situation, a regional parenting publication operating without benefit of written contract was caught reusing a freelancer's article on the World Wide Web. The publisher promptly apologized and agreed to buy a year's use on the site for 20 percent of the original fee.

*****

Web page http://www.asja.org/cwpage.htm
-------------------------------------------------
W o r l d C u l t u r e s
-------------------------------------------------
(apologies to mom's of the world)
"The artist's only responsibility is to his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one... If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate; the Ode on a Grecian Urn is worth any number of old ladies." William Faulkner
-------------------------------------------------

-- Krannert Art Museum has a variety of artifacts from history

- Romarch, "the original crossroads for web resources on the art and archeology of Italy and the Roman Provinces ca. 1000BC- AD700- sponsored by University of Michigan. Lots of roaming room!

-- Ho-Am Art Museum- Korean art, ceramics etc. Very tasty stuff.

-- Brooklyn Museum of Art-- a bit slow on the download but has large collection.

- Leonardo On-Line-- art, technology, music etc--very provocative and well presented--I recommend it.
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T h e F i n a l W o r d
-------------------------------------------------
Cyber Oasis will be going under some changes in the upcoming months. For one, I'm thinking of a name change. But, more importantly, I'm thinking of ways to expand it and make it more substantial. The first year has certainly taught me a great deal and I'm grateful for the opportunity to share my passion for writing and literature with others. Some of the things I'm thinking about:
1- getting sponsors to help defray some costs
2- running lengthy articles on my web page that can be accessed from Cyber Oasis
3- soliciting articles, literary work etc. from subscribers
4- making Cyber Oasis the entryway into a larger, more comprehensive effort that a subscriber can access at their discretion.

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Vol 1 Issue 11 Cyber Oasis September 1997
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
-------------------------------------------------
1-Welcome
2-Manna from the Oasis
3-The Pleasures of Research
4-Self-Publishing
5-World Culture
6-Announcements
7-Letters
8-Brief Endnote
9-etc etc etc
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W e l c o m e - S e p t e m b e r 1 9, 1 9 9 7

"A book must be an ice-axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul." Kafka
-------------------------------------------------
I welcome you to another issue of Cyber Oasis. I appreciate the comments advising me how to improve the Oasis. There are changes in this months issue. I have written two articles and have linked them to the newsletter. The articles would bulk up an effort like this but on the web they are short and effective. They also look better than the plain text affair we get through email. One article is on researching the Net/Web and the other is on self-publishing. I've marked-up these pages so they are readable by most browsers. But, please, if you have any problem with them let me know. Things have been a bit frantic around here and I know I've left something out or made some blunder. Don't be afraid to point them out to me! Writers can be loveable oafs at times.

I also have a 'Notes from the Editor' page that goes along the lines of what I have done in this space throughout the year. Go to:

The title of the first Notes is, 'The Writer as Warrior.' Have fun with it! I've added a letters page also linked to my web site. That space is for anyone in Oasis-land who wants to say something.

I've done this so readers have the option of what they want to read. I realize it is more effective if your browser can link to the Web and you can hit the back button to return to the newsletter. If you don't have that capability just key in the address and link anyway! I want to make Cyber Oasis as effective as possible and yet run substantial articles. I am developing a list of themes to guide upcoming issues. If you have any suggestions, let me know.

Finally, I want to know if there are any problems with the delivery of Cyber Oasis. Different mail readers accept and read mail differently. I want to make sure no subscriber gets a corrupted issue. Let me know if there's a problem.

Enjoy this issue!

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M a n n a f r o m t h e O a s i s
-------------------------------------------------

Choba is 'an electric haiku journal focusing on modern haiku and senryu, essays concerning style, technique, observations, illuminations, translation and season words.' Choba is a simple but wonderful site for haiku lovers.

- The Watermark is a promising site by an artist. He runs interesting poetry. Contact John Yen if you want to contribute: johnyen@interport.net

- Grammatron--for those who can afford to linger at a site. It's a performance piece; a hypertext experiment--you either like or don't.

-- World Press Review is an on-line version of print magazine with interesting clippings and stories

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T h e P l e a s u r e s O f R e s e a r c h
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I call it the 'pleasures of research' but then I have the peculiar belief that knowledge is good in and for itself. Research under pressure can be a nightmare unless you know what you're doing. I address a few research principles as well as 'how-to' use search engines to research on the Web. I remember the first time I used Alta Vista and a modest request gave me 500,000 hits. I viewed the first thirty sites and gave up. Then I found out that there are all kinds of clever ways to get a page high up on the search engine results so there was no guarantee that the first 30 or first 3000 entries would have what I was truly looking for. That's when 'deep' searching and 'power searching' come in handy. Check it out at:

If you need a bit more explanation about search engines let me know.

Meanwhile, here are some excellent sites for research purposes:

- Ask An Expert--what you have to understand here is that not all experts are created equal. The site will link you to a page of an expert in the topic you've keyed into their search engine.

-Finding Data on the Internet-- there's a gold mine of info--play around with it

-- World Wide News-- Link to thousands of newspaper sites around the world, including student newspapers.
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S e l f - P u b l i s h i n g

"No man should ever publish a book until he has first read it to a woman." Van Wyck Brooks
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Writers on the Web need to know something of web design. It, too, can be a pleasure or a nightmare depending on how well prepared you are. Some brief hints: break the text up, use white space, and make sure there is a 'reading contrast' between the text and the background. I have an article on this and other things to consider about self-publication. Who do you think makes the most money from the sale of a book you write? Hint: it's not you. I outline a few of the advantages and shortcomings of self-publishing. Go:

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W o r l d C u l t u r e s
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--Diego Rivera Web Museum--terrific site dedicated to great Mexican muralist. Excellent reproductions of his murals.

--Galeria degli Uffizi -- famous museum has simple site, easy to navigate. Not quite the same as being there but has instructive text on Renaissance art. They induce you to register at their site to download 'hi-res pictures'.

- Nezu Institute of Fine Arts --go to Masterpiece section and savor the Hanging Scrolls.

-- South African National Gallery--check out the PhotoSynthesis exhibit.

-- Schonbrunn Palace-- Emperor Franz Josef I house- nice house- where I plan to retire.

Kelsey Museum of Archeology---on the excavation of Karnis, Egypt Good links to Classical art and archeology.

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A n n o u n c e m e n t s

"To write well, express yourself like the common people, but think like a wise man." Aristotle
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L e t t e r s
-------------------------------------------------

The fiction editor of Moondance, an ezine for women, is looking for contributors. Check it out! One subscriber gives his take on tv. Go:

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B r i e f E n d n o t e s
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What to ask an agent:

How much do you charge?
Could I have a list of your clients?
Do you require a written contact?
Do you understand my book?
What sales pitch do you intend to use?
How many editors will you send the work to?
What rights do you intend to market?
How often do you want to hear from me?
Will you help edit the manuscript?
-----------------------------------------------
I've come across a fun and useful service called Wordsmith. You can get dictionary definitions, synonyms, and acronyms by email. All you do is put in the SUBJECT line: define 'yourword' and send it to wsmith@wordsmith.org. Most of the words I've sent have come back with extensive definitions. If you want synonyms put in the SUBJECT line: synonym 'yourword', send it to the same address. You do the same thing for acronym. This can be very handy.

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Vol. 1 Issue 12 Cyber Oasis October 1997
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
1-Welcome
2-Manna from the Oasis
3-Writers and Income
4-Bottom Fishing the Net
5-World Culture
6-Announcements/Letters
7-Dumping the Old Files
8-Brief Endnote
9-Terms to Remember
10-etc etc etc
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W e l c o m e - O c t o b e r 20, 1 9 9 7

Glad to see you again! One year of Cyber Oasis; I can hardly believe it. But, I'm glad to be here. Mine is a simple task: mediate between the net/web and those who want an enhanced experience of writing and literature. Cyber Oasis is also about trying to make the literary presence on the web a real one; a substantial one. Not only is there a variety of fantastic writing resources on the net, the momentum is all in favor of making it a prime publishing venue.

Of course, if unlimited access or some other event topples the applet cart; ce la vie.

I know that after an intense session of snaking through literary and writing sites my mind is filled with comprehension and stimulation--enrichment. Of course, it helps if you bring a good deal of knowledge and experience before entering the net!

Things seem to work out. People saturated by the web will, one day, rebel against it and go back to nature or discover some true self that is now hidden by propaganda, ads, and mass culture.

There are three ways to read Cyber Oasis. (1) scroll it down until you hit something that interests you, link to it, follow that sites links, back-button to C/O and go to the end, bookmarking those sites you want to return to. (2) spend an hour or so hitting every link provided and then sitting back and reflecting on the experience. If it's an interesting experience, let me know! (3) save C/O in a folder and bring it out once a week and taste it a few links at a time until the next month comes out.

My notes to the editor is titled, 'Writing is a Law not yet Written.' http://people.delphi.com/eide491/edit.html

I've linked this issue to some interesting articles I've run across. Hope you enjoy!
-------------------------------------------------
M a n n a f r o m t h e O a s i s

--Mens Voice Magazine-- Bly stuff; stories, fathers, etc.

- Eclectica- young writers- give them a chance--when they learn the secrets of revision, watch out!

-- De Proverbio-- 'the worlds first multilingual eclectric publisher of proverb studies and collections.' Go ONLY if you are interested in the academic treatment of proverbs.

- The Cune Press, 'A Journal of Grassroots Publishing.' Some wonderful literary essays in this simple site

-- The 2River Review- it's looking for poetry-submit: 2River@helman.daemen.edu It also wants essays on poetic influence.

- Archipelago --this is the find of the month. Literary ezines should head in this direction- nice layout and meaty literary stuff- Read the remarkable (and long) interview with Marion Boyar

-- Journal of Electronic Publishing --For the academics among us--useful articles if you write for academic journals
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W r i t e r s a n d I n c o m e

Ah, what a subject--writers live in a world where they must write without any promise or guarantee of a reward. And they watch all their compatriots grow wealthy in the economy while they languish scribbling on pieces of paper. I run in that tribe and have prepared a little article about writers and income. There's some advice, some anecdotes, etc etc.
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W e b P u b l i s h i n g

Three web sites exemplify the near-term future of web publishing. There are some remarkable sites out there that have poured a lot of money into both design and content. I don't think it would be wise to leave Suck or Word or Salon out of the picture. However, the three I write about below exemplify the various directions web publishing is headed.

The first of these sites is Slate http://www.slate.com Slate is panned all over the place for some simple reasons. They haven't taken into account the habits that have have grown rapidly on the net. Savvy netizens don't want what they can get on week-end tv. And they aren't taking a magazine to the beach to leisurely read with the tide lapping at their feet. So, when they are thrown an off-line type of endeavor many tend to get the ol' back button itch. And we know who has roped Slate to its bosom; the biggest, baddest corporate sponsor around. The intrinsic value of the net is that there is little coercion. But it raises a very significant point. Where will the revenue come from if not sponsors like Microsoft? And without revenue how will any publication pay top writers and editors?

The second site is Atlantic Unbound http://www.theatlantic.com an attractive site with the one or two meaty articles in its print version available on-line. But like a lot of other sites, literary and otherwise, it is a come-on to subscribe to the print version. They want to whet your appetite and buy the damn thing. What I'm looking for is to find sites competing in quality with on-line print publications. The key is revenue. On-line publications have to make some revenue to pay good writers. In the financial world a new publication called Thestreet.com is starting up and will charge subscribers around $10/month for access to every type of financial fact and story imaginable. I'll keep a close eye on it.

That brings us to Feed http://www.feedmag.com This is an on-line effort that appeals to the person of letters, a critter always being threatened with extinction but who plants one more seed before giving up the ghost. Here you have original writing, satire, and an effort to make publishing on the web a real competitor to the print world. And many more original sites will come into being in the next 5-10 years.

By the way, Feed doesn't publish unsolicited material but will look at any query you send them; send it with a list of published work. Email Sam Lipsyte and keep the query between 3-500 words long. -
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B o t t o m F e e d i n g t h e N e t

Ralph Lombreglia interview in Atlantic Unbound, 'Most Multi-Media Sucks.'

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W o r l d C u l t u r e s

-- Cairo Coptic Museum -- interesting display of pottery, earrings, etc. from early AD

--Kyoto National Museum --go right to Masterwork!

--Asian Civilisation Museum--covers southeastern, south, east, and west asia--pretty extensive

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A n n o u n c e m e n t s/ L e t t e r s

On the letters page I have the latest installment of ASJA Contract Watch- always a necessary read for free-lance writers

There's also an offer for a tutorial on 'WWI poetry' from Oxford University

Mr. Hawkins has another letter on Planning--good advice

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D u m p i n g t h e O l d F i l e s

I have old manila folders laying about and pick them up occasionally to look what's inside. I came across this article from 1994 by Francine du Plessix Gray, novelist (Lovers and Tyrants). She has some fiber- like things to say about writing. Her four axioms of writing:

1) Keep your sentences erotic - i.e.. vigorous and fresh Avoid the missionary position and go for what connects with the heart of what you want to say

2) Create a pact of trust - 'Like an ideal lover- like that archetypal storyteller, Scheherazade- the author has immediately let us know that she will offer us just as much sensory information as she needs to seduce us without ever offering us enough to sate us.'

3) Strive for muscle - the body in the word, the word in the body 4

) Rebel against the tyranny of genre - she quotes Flannery Conner in the year of her death, 'Any idiot with a nickel's worth of talent can emerge from a writing class able to write a competent story. In fact so many people can now write competent stories that the short story as a medium is dying of competence.'
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B r i e f E n d n o t e s

I've been cruising this net for a year now checking out the best literary/writing sites I can find. I notice there are a core of several dozen that most publications link to. There are many nuggets buried out there in the vast digital sands of the web. I enjoy Web del Sol because they link to some venerable literary rags that have gone on-line. And what I have discovered this month is that cool jazz is the perfect background for reading a poem or story on the web. When the sound and video qualities improve it will ensure a real experience to go to some of these quality sites and surrender to the Word. http://www.webdelsol.com
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Terms to Remember:

Advance: money paid to an author for publication rights before any money has been made from sales. Advances are usually, 'recoupable'--that is, to be paid back to the publisher from the writers earned royalties

Kill fee: payment to a magazine writer who's story is ultimately not bought and published

Escalation: increasing the royalty rate when sales reach a predetermined level

Production advance: payment to a writer to off-set costs incurred with special design costs, illustrations etc. The advance is paid back through author royalties. It's far more advantageous to get a production grant which simply carries that cost for the writer

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Vol. 2 Issue 1 Cyber Oasis November 1997
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
1-Welcome
2-Manna from the Oasis
3-Evidence of what happens when the artist is lazy
4-Web Publishing
5-Bottom Feeding the Net
6-World Cultures
7-Announcement/Letters
8-Dumping Old Files
9-Brief Endnote
10-etc etc
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W e l c o m e - N o v e m b e r 1 7, 1 9 9 7

There's a literary figure hovering over this web with a scythe in hand, lopping off those who are not committed. Or, have been committed and have never come back.

Stick your spade into the rich web, turn it over, dig, and find. That's a pretty good operating principle.

The spade hits rocks and tough old roots but dig you must. After one year I still find jewels and nuggets even though I wade through an open field of utter crap.

With nothing better to do I did a search on AltaVista for 'cyber oasis'- the first listing was one Sheik Yer Buttox from pornoland who invites the curious to his 'cyber oasis'. I'd like to know if he hired a professional consultant to get his listing at the very top.

When looking at web sites I look at several things: the original content, the design and ease of navigation, the added value (background music, good links) and/or the presentation of quality already in the culture somewhere.

The good and fair Muse of Texas has turned me on to AOL Instant Messenger and I recommend it. Get in touch whenever I'm on-line. My name is Ulenman.

We'll hear many things about the net/web but never this: 'the web has exhausted all its possibilities.' Human culture becomes a renewable resource the like of which we haven't seen on this fair planet. Call off all bets on the 'decline and decay of culture and civilization.' Put your money on a renascence profound and wide in scope.

What law says you have to click a mile a minute? Who has decreed you have to leap into everything that has a blue underline? The truth of the matter is that it's much more rewarding to go to three or four sites, linger and savor, than jump all around the web. Rely on a good editor to direct you to the best sites possible and use those sites to your satisfaction.
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M a n n a f r o m t h e O a s i s
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Plums of the Month:

-- Amines Cathedral Web Site- This is the find of the month- demonstrates what a cultural web site can be--must go.

Intangible--a wonderful jewel in the muck
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- InterText has been around for several years. Publishes short stories up to 15,000 words but recommend shorter stories. Submit to:

- The Onion-- good laughter here- who are these characters?

- Mudlark- quality stuff that solicits poems and essays--send to

Xander Mellish- fresh and funny

- A Celebration of Women Writers --'recognizing the contributions of women writers throughout history.'

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Evidence of what happens when the spirit tires of itself:

* Restaurant Openings: La Nouvelle Justin, an S&M-themed restaurant that offers diners mild spankings, food served in dog bowls, and the opportunity to command and be commanded as they eat, opened in May in New York City. And in Beijing, the most successful of recent nostalgia restaurants, noted for serving the food of the cultural revolution, is Fang Lis Compare Past Misery with Present Happiness. It serves mostly peasant food (ant soup, fried crickets); one woman eating corn cake chewed on it for a few moments, then pushed it away, saying, "It tastes the same, not any better than what I remember." GREAT ART

* Ming-Wei Lee's recent performance-art exhibit in a New York City gallery featured him merely eating dinner, in private, with a new guest each night. "Both of us are performing," he said. "Both of us are participating. The food acts as a medium for conversation. For me, art is about process."

* San Francisco "conceptual artist" Guy Overslept, 29, was prominently, if not favorably, reviewed for two recent projects: For a show at the Refusal gallery in San Francisco, he called 2,000 toll-free numbers to request that information be sent to the gallery. (That's it.) For a show at New York City's White Columns Gallery in the winter, he exhibited two 1,000-name mailing lists of art collectors, one for the East Coast and one for the West Coast. (Overslept offered for sale a "signed" edition of the mailing lists, on PC and Mac diskettes, for $20 each.)

* To publicize an April poetry show at the Hyperdisc coffee house in Los Angeles, poet-psychiatrist Robert Carol released one of his recent pieces, entitled "Am I Really Going to Vel Out in Front of the TV Again Tonight?" The text of the poem is: "Yes."

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W e b P u b l i s h i n g

Writers are going to have to break some bad habits to be effective on the web. They have to learn that people don't want frothy intellectualism, they don't want ponderous 19th century prose, etc. They want writing rich in metaphor, leaping from virtual space, pointed to the center of their concerns.

They want to taste what has been robbed from them by popular culture and the harried life we all lead. My contention is that the web will create a whole new interest in the poetic arts. And certainly, just because it's on the web doesn't make it good.

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B o t t o m F e e d i n g t h e N e t

Hearing From Poetry's Audience by Dana Goia:

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W o r l d C u l t u r e s

- Exploring Ancient World Culture--ever want to read the Evade Zadspram- some excepts are here for all latent Zoroastrians

- The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World --refresh your memory of when you learned these things in grade school

-World Art Treasures- 'The principle purpose of WATT is to promulgate the discovery and love of art--have over 100,000 slides

The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Russia has a generous sampling of a collection that spans centuries.

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A n n o u n c e m e n t s/ L e t t e r s

Enjoy another A. Hawkins letter. A magazine editor is looking for contributors. Make sure you check out the November issue of ASJA Contracts Watch!
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D u m p i n g t h e O l d F i l e s

So, we take the old files out and shake the dust off them. We are met with ancient moral quandaries that paralzyed us as young people. Here is a list of books we wanted to read 15 years ago. We keep it for nostalgia’s sake. Here is an old story written in the early mornings, in an upstairs flat, in a house built in 1910 in the splendorous city of Oakland. Keep it and transform it. Here is a list of quotes from Jean Paul Sartre and Norman Brown--zip zap, delete. Here is a precursor of an e-zine written in 1976 called The VoltAge written by computer hacks about how computers are on the cusp of a mighty revolution. Keep it.

It's frightening to see some note that seemed so important eight years ago begin to brown and look absurd. If I still knew the guy who owned the ugly and scary parrots I'd let him paper his birdcage with some of these notes. -

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B r i e f E n d n o t e s

It is disconcerting to look at a portrait painted 1900 years ago with more efficacy, more life, more skill, more value than the multimillion dollar projects that promote themselves as modern art today. What is missing in our time is skill. Skill comes with patience and long, sacrificial days that we are not permitted these days. And if skill is lost what is left? Smoke and mirrors and massive manipulation of the people as to what is 'good' for them. If a person were to learn to build one thing well and unlike anything built before they would know both value and freedom.

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Vol. 2 Issue 2 Cyber Oasis December 1997
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T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
1-Welcome
2-Manna from the Oasis
3-No such Thing as a Free Lunch
4-Resources
5-Bottom Feeding the Net
6-World Cultures
7-Announcement/Letters
8-Dumping Old Files
9-Brief Encounters
10-etc etc
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W e l c o m e - D e c e m b e r 2 2, 1 9 9 7

Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye!

We're going to talk about money. We're going to talk about the hypertext environment.

Cyber Oasis is now open to contributors. I'll accept up to three pieces of writing and pay from $10-20 for each. I will mark-up the work, put it on my website, link to it from Cyber Oasis, etc. The writer retains copyright and gets a byline.

I will pay for the 3 most sincere acts of writing I receive. Subject matter is open as long as it refers to literary/ writing matters. Original stories, poems, essays are welcome. Anything related to the making, distributing, selling of written material on or off-line are welcome. I'd like articles to be from 750-2000 words; stories and poems can be any length but my criteria is going to be very high for literary work. Pay will be determined by length and quality of submission.

Send your contributions to:

IMPORTANT: put in the SUBJECT line, 'submission/oasis' Send it as plain-text ASCII attachment and try to keep the text on half a screen.

Depending on a number of factors I'll try to respond to every piece of writing I get.

What is it?
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Cyber Oasis is not a newsletter. It is a table of contents. It leads into a number of venues you can use at your leisure.

Please take advantage of this experiment in publishing and use it for your information and pleasure.

The idea is not simply to provide a link service but any number of original material, jobs, classifieds, and anything else we can think of as we head into the 2nd year.

I want a smile when you finish scanning Cyber Oasis!

'Well,' I hear you say, 'it's pretty easy just linking us to a bunch of sites you didn't create and try to gain from it.' I've thought about that. I don't feel guilty. Linkage is the vital act in this hypertext environment. Most content providers want links. They want readers from Cyber Oasis to click and see what they have. In fact, they're glad they don't have to pay for the privilege. More clicks, happy webmasters. Very simple.

I just received a notice that my jobs for writers page is being featured in The Mining Company's Free-lance writer site hosted by Lisa Carr. Am I distressed by this?

I notice more sites bar linking through one type of programming or the other. That is their right.

But there is an ideal state that is still attainable at the early stages of this beast. The good netizens can assign their values in every sphere of activity. For instance, poetry and letters have as much chance to gain large readership as porno, gambling, and extremist politics.

I've urged writers to become editors and winnow the wheat from the chaff. Actually, many writers should become many editors so they keep each other honest. That process will produce a better experience for all involved on this magnificent new beast.

I reflect on my experiences on the net the past 2 years at My Virtual Space:

Links demand attention! In a review of sites I've listed in Oasis some have vanished. Many are are sadly moribund. A few wouldn't be included in Oasis now. But there is a great deal of sincerity, imagination, fun, and talent leaping on the electronic beast as in a Carnival.

By next issue I'll have a clean list of 'best sites' on my web page and provide a link to it. Those wise netizens who advise to 'continually check for broken links' know whereof they speak. Have a good read!
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M a n n a f r o m t h e O a s i s

- Aesops Fables- wonderful site with 638 fables. Constructed by someone who loves his subject and has his 9 year old daughter reading some of the tales.

-Banned Books On-Line--a stark reminder of the attempt on the part of fear and intolerance to determine what should be written and read. Presented by The On-Line Book Page.

- Encyclopedia Mythica--thousands of definitions of "gods, goddesses, supernatural beings and legendary creatures and monsters from around the world." Excellent presentation.

Ubuweb: visual/concrete/sound poetry-- very interesting site if you're into Burroughs and cut-up poetic experiment. Was that really Apollinarie speaking? You could spend a good deal of time at this site if you're into it.

Web Fiction Review--neat little site that reviews a few good stories on familiar sites like Richmond Review, Mississippi Review, and Enterzone. It's a quick trip and will get you to some of the best fiction being written on the web.
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N o S u c h T h i n g A s A F r e e L u n c h:

The business community is in a snit because their advertising models aren't working like they're suppose to. There must be some instinct in the consumer-folk that grasps the raw moment and realizes that they aren't captured any longer in an old marketplace, made passive and imposed by top-down techniques and effects. Make'em work for your dollar! The netizens have the power to squeeze the giants where it hurts until every product and every service (like every story and every poem) rides up high in consciousness. The implications of the net are that exacting.

I just got word that Slate will start charging for subscriptions early next year. This is inevitable and makes it more important to keep independent, free content flowing on the net. It's questionable whether on-line sites can survive through subscriptions at this time. However, Slate could be throwing up its hands and saying, 'well, at least we'll raise a good deal of short-term capital.' Let's see, 100,000 subscribers at $19/pop comes out to $1.9M. Certainly enough to keep their content providers happy! Fortunately you can burrow into any channel you want on the net; free or fee. Free will always be there on the net but will be subsidized through ads, fund raising, private funds, or angels.

Want some free book reading? At the Personal Bookshelf you can select up to 5 fully searchable books to view on-line. They give you 90 days and offer an impressive array of material. Sure, it's a come-on to get you to buy the books but many of the books I found are pretty valuable. I've selected several Laura LeMay web development books and have read specific chapters helpful to me. Go look at it and see what you think: It is part of MacMillan Publishing.
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R e s o u r c e s:

Agents:

Some general facts about agents. Anyone can become an agent. I could become an agent. You could become an agent. There's no test involved. To become a good agent is something else. A good agent will not charge you a fee or fee(s) to read your manuscript. The good agent will do everything in his/her power to ensure that YOU get paid for your manuscript. Never pay an agent a dime of your hard-earned money. A writing pal of mine fell into that trap. The agent 'recommended' a guy to critique his manuscript for a mere $700. The agent would not consider the manuscript unless my pal sent away the manuscript and the $700. My jaw dropped when he told me this story. He sent away the manuscript and the $700 and got back a detailed, sincere critique that said, in effect, never bother us again with your effort. If you believe in your work, make sure your agent believes in it as well. Otherwise you'll be taken for a painful, expensive ride.

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W o r l d C u l t u r e s

-Web Acropol-- an old site but I fell in love with the JPEGS of the venerable Acropolis--good commentary is appended

The Prince of Wales Museum of Western India--quite a site- very representative of 'art, culture, and heritage of India.' Only complaint is that the graphics download slowly-- worth looking at.

Contemporary Art Museum of Caracas--filled with sculpture, painting, etc. of modern artists; Picasso, Moore, Matisse, etc. Go look.

--Painters on the Web-- This is the mega site for painters and paintings on Web. Bookmark it and go back again and again. You could spend a full year, easily, at this site. It links you to every site on each painter on its extensive list.

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A n n o u n c e m e n t s/ L e t t e r s

Read another installment of Arthur Hawkins tips for writers! Moondance is looking for contributors- go look at their '98 themes. ModBrits is looking for contributors and Guiseppe has an interesting on-line project going.

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D u m p i n g t h e O l d F i l e s

Been reading a lot about 'post-modernism'. Listen, here's what you do. You figure out how to create the biggest and fiercest literary structure possible and ignore everything else. Keep the heart of building things pure and fiery and you'll never worry about the academic quibblings of the transient day.

It's been a busy week-end for your editor since the garbage company (rumored to be a mob-front) has said we can dump anything out but toxic waste. I hope they know how to read. What seems to disappear the quickest are those 'social analysis' books from 15-20 years ago. What were they looking at? Do people really view themselves as a 'demographic' that can be easily manipulated by politicians and others who want power from the people? I keep all the literature and big books I loved as a kid; Ivanhoe, for instance, and picture books about the ancient world. Well, things are cleaner, less cluttered, less dusty than they use to be. Long live clean-ups!

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B r i e f E n c o u n t e r s

Well, I did it. That's right, I bought books over the net. It feels dangerous. In two days those books were on my desk and I'm thinking, as a read the short works of Samuel Beckett, 'this could ruin me.' I bought a book I carried around when I was a poet/wanderer writing verses in some of the glamorous parks of infamous cities. Rilke was a guiding light at that time and I loved his little novel, The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge. I carried that tattered book around for several years until I loaned it to a gal who had two tiny tattoos; a crescent moon and a sun. I never saw the book again. ---------------------------------------------------

I sincerely wish everyone a happy holidays and wonderful new year. A pal of mine did a wonderful thing this year. He signed up to help in a soup kitchen for a couple of days and took his girlfriend and daughter with him. That is the true spirit of things!

David

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David