An error has occurred in the print edition of the current issue of Island #138. The short story, ‘An Anti-Glacier Book’ by Ben Walter (pp. 66-69) is missing a set of footnotes that are integral to the story. The person responsible for this shall remain unnamed (let’s just call him, Matthew Lamb, the Editor), although they have been punished.
In an effort to rectify this situation, we have reinstated the footnotes to the online version of the story.
But we’d also like to take this opportunity to raise a question, and to run an experiment. The question is: What do you think about the use of footnotes in fiction? Is it a useful literary device? Or is it a hackneyed affectation?
Rebecca Wells Jopling, in a blog post On Fiction: An Online Magazine on the Psychology of Fiction, has raised this question more succinctly:
It would be interesting to find out to what extent readers think footnotes enhance or diminish their experience of literary works. It would also be interesting to discover whether their belief concerning the degree to which footnotes help or hinder their reading corresponds or does not correspond to their actual experience of reading the work.
This leads us to our experiment. We would like everybody who has already read the printed (non-footnoted) version of Ben Walter’s story in Island, to now read the online (footnoted) version of the story, and reflect on their reading experience. We’d also ask anybody else interested in this question to read both versions of the story and let us know what you think: Do the footnotes add or subtract from your reading experience? Or does it make little or no impact? Do you think the footnotes change the meaning of the story?
The online (footnoted) story can be found here: ‘An Anti-Glacier Book‘
A pdf of the print (non-footnoted) story can be downloaded here: ‘An Anti-Glacier Book‘