What an interesting idea. I love it. A former girlfriend and I used to write long letters back and forth when we were living in separate cities for a time. In some ways letter writing is very challenging. Because we can say exactly what we mean, it's a challenge to craft the perfect words, but it also gives the opportunity for do-overs, which we don't get in real life. You never get the feeling when writing a letter of thinking of the perfect thing to say five minutes too late, which we often do in life, since you don't have to send it right away. I like this spin, because it injects more humanism into letter writing. Words can still be composed, but can be read or recited in a natural way, and there is no mistaking with what inflection a passage should be read. I'm sure we've all had the experience of sending a benign email or text, only to have the person who receives it completely misinterpret the meaning. Anyway, I'll look forward to recording my first e-Vox.
So true! Ambiguity is impossible to avoid in written language, try as we might. Emoticons, italics, caps and underscores have all arisen to address the problem, but ineffectively, and often at the expense of dignity, don't you agree? ;P I hadn't thought of that as a benefit of this format, but you're totally right. Interesting to remember that, despite the dominance of the written word, oral culture always comes first, and script arises merely as the notation of it. In grad school, when we presented our poems, others would read them aloud, and it always blew me away how impossible it was to convey emphasis and inflection of tone accurately. What you observe about the opportunity to deliberate, to collect meaning, to say exactly what you mean, how you feel, is probably my favorite thing about the e-Vox. That, and the irreplaceable joy that comes from hearing a well known, well loved voice clearly, speaking thoughts specifically to you. Thanks so much for your reflections on this thing! I look forward to hearing how you enjoy it.