Weaving Text
Think of writing text as weaving. The result is fabric. The word text comes from a Latin verb texere, to weave, braid, intertwine or compose. Words with the same root are texture and textile. Writers are weaving together people, places, things and other stories. My mother was a weaver, and I write. The texture of the writing reflects all of these things; these together with the personality comprises a writer's voice. The context has to do with time, place, community and purpose. For Tillie Olsen and many women writers, the practice of incorporating other texts and stories acknowledges and honors the struggles of others. Olsen's mission was to lift the voices of those who are not in the history books.
Hypertext and Intertext
The internet creates the opportunity for weaving. Hypertextuality can provide links to images, oral and written history, maps, other texts and stories; therefore, it increases content and provides more context. Hypertext increases the intertextual links between stories.
