This hypertext poem is open by design, with a long history of inviting participation from others. When it was first published in 1993 in HyperCard format by Eastgate systems (referred to in earlier entries as Marble Springs 1.0) it offered readers the ability to contribute their own writing to the work via annotations, as described in the publisher’s site.
Marble Springs joins reading and writing as it invites each reader to rewrite and extend the work. Open or “constructive hypertexts” have long been considered one of the great promises of hypertext fiction and of the colonization of cyberspace, yet actually creating an open hypertext, one in which others can write and will wish to write, poses both technical and artistic challenges which Larsen has met head-on.
![Screen capture of "Marble Springs 1.0 [Web Demo]" by Deena Larsen (part 1 of 4). A pixelated map of Crystal River Valley, showing all its mountains, peaks, rivers, tracks, and railroads.](http://academic.uprm.edu/flores/images/marblespringsmap.png)