Richard Holeton (born December 28, 1952) is an American writer and higher-education administrator. Holeton's creative works are foundational in the hypertext and electronic literature genres. As a writer, his most notable work is the hypertext novel Figurski at Findhorn on Acid, which has been recognized as an important early work of electronic literature^[1] and is included in the hypertext canon.^[2]

A 20th Anniversary Edition of Figurski at Findhorn on Acid, in archival and contemporary versions, was released in 2021 by Washington State University Vancouver’s Electronic Literature Lab.^[3]

Holeton's short fiction has appeared in literary journals and anthologies including ZYZZYVA, F(r)iction, Grain, OPEN: Journal of Arts & Letters, the Indiana Review, and the Mississippi Review.

Holeton also authored the textbooks Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age and Encountering Cultures: Reading and Writing in a Changing World.

Biography

Early life and education

Richard Holeton was born in Orange, New Jersey and was raised in Bellevue, Washington.^[4] He earned a BA from Stanford and MA and MFA degrees from San Francisco State University. Currently, he lives near Half Moon Bay, California.^[5]

Career

After receiving his MA in 1986, Holeton began working as a writing lecturer at San Francisco State University, Cañada College, and Stanford University.^[6] He transitioned into working with technology and student computing. He worked to teach language and literature faculty methods of integrating computers into their classroom pedagogy^[7] and became an administrator with Stanford University Libraries and residential computing. During this time he was a Director of the New Media Consortium and also worked with EDUCAUSE^[8] to co-develop the Learning Space Rating System.^[9] Following his retirement from teaching and holding administrative positions at Stanford, Holeton is Assistant Vice Provost for Learning Environments, Emeritus.^[5]

In 2014, Holeton was awarded a fellowship from MacDowell, which he spent working in the Schelling studio.^[10] He has also received fellowships from the Brown Foundation, California Arts Council, and the National Endowment for the Arts; as well as the Transatlantic Review Award from the Henfield Foundation.^[8][11]

Selected works

Books

• Figurski at Findhorn on Acid (Eastgate Systems, 2001). Hypertext novel (CD-ROM).^[12]
  • 20th Anniversary Edition (Electronic Literature Lab, 2021)^[3]
• Composing Cyberspace: Identity, Community, and Knowledge in the Electronic Age (McGraw-Hill, 1998).^[13] Worldcat entry.
• Encountering Cultures: Reading and Writing in a Changing World (Blair Press/Prentice Hall 2/e 1995).^[14] Worldcat entry.
• Encountering Cultures: Reading and Writing in a Changing World (Blair Press/Prentice Hall 1/e 1992).^[15] Worldcat entry.
• Lumber World: A Novel (Brautigan Library Digital Collection, 2019). Available: http://www.thebrautiganlibrary.org/download/holeton-lumber-world1.pdf. Podcast available (in progress): http://brautiganlibrarypod.libsyn.com/ .
• Lumber World: The Rejection File (Brautigan Library Digital Collection, 2019). Available: http://www.thebrautiganlibrary.org/download/holeton-lumber-world2.pdf.

Short fiction and multimedia work

• "WAIF OD" (2020, in F(r)iction)^[16]
• "In Denial: A Further Redaction of the Mueller Report" (2019, in The Fictitious Press) Available: fictitiouspress.com
• "March Madness, 1974" (2018, in Open: Journal of Arts & Letters)^[17]
  • Republished in COG, 2018^[18]
    • Finalist, COG Page to Screen Awards
• "Custom Orthotics Changed My Life" (2010, in Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy)^[19]
  • Also published by Kairos on YouTube^[20]
• "Calling Fruits and Vegetables" in Fish Anthology 2007: A Paper Heart is Beating, A Paper Boat Sets Sail. Fish Publishing, 2007. ISBN 9780954258665
  • Runner-up, Fish One-Page Prize
• "Product Placement" (2007, in Mississippi Review)^[21]
  • Honorable Mention, 2007 Mississippi Review Prize
• "Thanks for Covering Your Lane" (2006, in Indiana Review)^[22]
  • Finalist, 2005 Indiana Review Fiction Prize
  • Finalist, 2012 California Writers Exchange Award, Poets & Writers
• "Frequently Asked Questions About 'Hypertext'" (2006, in Electronic Literature Collection)^[23]
• "Understanding Hypertext" (2004, in ZYZZYVA)^[24]
• "Streleski at Findhorn on Acid" (1995, in Grain)^[25]
  • First Prize, Short Grain Postcard Story

Poetry

• "Afterword(s): Take a Book/Leave a Book" (2019, in Forklift, Ohio)^[26]
  • Multimedia version, Notre Dame Review, 2020^[27]
• "Sonnetizing the Singularity" (2018, in Unlost: Journal of Found Poetry & Art)^[28]

Nonfiction and scholarship

• "Someone, Somewhere, with Something: The Origins of Figurski" (2021, in Figurski at Findhorn on Acid).^[29]
• "Learning Space Rating System" (2021, in EDUCAUSE)^[30]

• "Toward Inclusive Learning Spaces: Physiological, Cognitive, and Cultural Inclusion and the Learning Space Rating System" (2020, in EDUCAUSE Review)^[31]
• "A Little Transmediation Can Be a Dangerous Thing, or What Happened When I Made a Multimedia Poem from an Artist’s Book" (2019, ELO2019: Electronic Literature Organization Conference & Media Arts Festival, Programme and Book of Abstracts)^[32]
• "How Much is Too Much New Media for the Net Generation?" (2010, in Reading and Writing New Media)^[33]

• "Signposts of the Revolution? What We Talk about When We Talk about Learning Spaces" (2009, in EDUCAUSE Review)^[34]
• "The Net Generation on Campus and Online" (2009, in Talking Stick: The Magazine of the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International)^[35]
• "New Students, Emerging Technologies, Virtual Communities, and the College Residential Experience" (2008, in Residence Life and the New Student Experience)^[36]
• "Windows and Mirrors: Interaction Design, Digital Art, and the Myth of Transparency (book review)" (2005, in Resource Center or Cyberculture Studies)^[37]

• "Constructive 'Noise in the Channel': Effects of Controversial Forwarded E-mail in a College Residential and Virtual Community" (1999, in ED-MEDIA)^[38]
• "The Semi-Virtual Composition Classroom: A Model for Techno-Amphibians" (1997, in The Technology Source (Horizon Project))^[39]
• "Amadeus (theater review)" (1987, in Palo Alto Weekly)^[40]
• "Family Life in the 80s from a Gay Perspective" (1986, in Palo Alto Weekly)^[41]
• "Stanford Waits for Godot: Celebrating Samuel Beckett at 80 (book review)" (1986, in Palo Alto Weekly)^[42]
• "An Unauthorized Peek Behind the Iron Curtain" (1985, in Palo Alto Weekly)^[43]

Selected criticism of Holeton's work

• Pisarski, Mariusz (July 14, 2021). "The new Figurski…– blueprints for media translation." Electronic Literature Lab. Available: https://dtc-wsuv.org/wp/ell/2021/07/14/the-new-figurski-blueprints-for-media-translation/
• Grigar, Dene (2021). “Migration as Translation: Moving Figurski to the Web.” Introduction. In Holeton, Richard. Figurski at Findhorn on Acid (20th Anniversary ed.). Vancouver, WA USA, Electronic Literature Lab. https://figurskiatfindhornonacid.com/introduction.html
• Tratner, Michael (2021). “The Distinctive Quality of Holeton’s Hypertext Novel.” Introduction. In Holeton, Richard. Figurski at Findhorn on Acid (20th Anniversary ed.). Vancouver, WA USA, Electronic Literature Lab. https://figurskiatfindhornonacid.com/introduction.html
• Grigar, Dene (December 20, 2019). "A Man and His Shoes: Complexity and Satire in Richard Holeton's Figurski at Findhorn on Acid". Rebooting Electronic Literature, Vol. 2: Documenting pre-web born digital media. Nouspace Publications. Available: https://scalar.usc.edu/works/rebooting-electronic-literature-volume-2/essay-on-richard-holetons-figurski-at-findhorn-on-acid?path=richard-holetons-figurski-at-findhorn-on-acid
• Miya, Chelsea (May 12, 2019). “Figurski at Findhorn on Acid”. Electronic Literature Directory. Available: https://directory.eliterature.org/individual-work/5061
• Heckman, Davin; O'Sullivan, James (2018). "Electronic Literature: Contexts and Poetics". Literary Studies in the Digital Age. MLA Commons. Available: dlsanthology.mla.hcommons.org/electronic-literature-contexts-and-poetics/
• Bau de Oliveira, Joanita (September 23, 2016). "A Narrativa Especular em Hipertexto: O Caso de 'Frequently Asked Questions About “Hypertext”,' De Richard Holeton". XV Abralic. Available: https://abralic.org.br/anais/arquivos/2016_1491505737.pdf
  • English translation: https://files.journoportfolio.com/users/43131/uploads/7c782142-5a28-46dc-9a54-bd8add95cbb7.pdf
• Ensslin, Astrid (2014). ""The Pen is Your Weapon of Choice": Ludic hypertext literature and the play with the reader". Literary Gaming. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0262027151.
• Bell, Alice (2010). "The Colorful Worlds of Richard Holeton's (2001) 'Figurski at Findhorn on Acid'". The Possible Worlds of Hypertext Fiction. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 150–184. ISBN 978-0-230-28128-8.