A long form netprov that lasted for over a year, Occupy MLA sought to promote discussion of the issues of non-tenure-track faculty (such as my co-author Mark C. Marino and myself) in the heart of the mighty Modern Language Association and its yearly convention. We created characters who we felt represented the plight of NTT faculty in a realistic and relatable way, and we used the cover of anonymity in part because we feel as vulnerable as so many of our NTT sisters and brothers do.
When Mark revealed it to be a work of electronic literature at the MLA conference in January of 2013, it unleashed a lively firestorm of attacks and defenses of our artistic strategy, reminding us of the bewildered and angry reaction to the introduction of other forms of fiction in the long history of literature.
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