Voilà comment on publie un roman sur Instagram

Temps de lecture: 4 min — Repéré sur Wired

Ils ont trente ans et sont originaires de Nouvelle-Angleterre aux Etats-Unis. Matilda et Harry Goodman sont jumeaux: elle est artiste à Brooklyn, lui écrivain et professeur d'anglais dans le Connecticut. Leur histoire est un roman –Hey Harry Hey Matilda– et ils sont les personnages inventés par Rachel Hulin, qui raconte leur histoire en textes et en photos, sur le réseau social Instagram via le compte @HeyHarryHeyMatilda.

Rachel Hulin, auteure et photographe explique au magazine Wired: «Pendant des années, j'ai été éditrice photo, assemblant images et texte. J'ai toujours eu le sentiment que les images renforcent le texte. J'aime aussi beaucoup raconter des histoires en épisodes, en ne présentant pas trop vite les personnages aux lecteurs, pour les impliquer, qu'ils commentent et fassent avancer l'histoire –je pense que les échanges avec les lecteurs améliorent l'histoire.»

Vingt-neuf images de la photographe Rachel Hulin ont pour l'instant été publiées (des images qu'elle avait dans ses archives et des photos prises exprès) –la première il y a trois semaines. 200 photos devraient être révélées au cours des neuf mois à venir. Pour raconter l'histoire, toute se passe dans les légendes, qui constituent des échanges d'emails entre les deux héros. Ils y parlent de leurs histoires d'amour, de leur carrière, de leur famille, de leurs souvenirs… Rachel Hulin a confié à Wired songer à modifier le cours des choses en fonction des commentaires des internautes.

Un site a aussi été lancé avec le compte Instagram, où les lecteurs peuvent écouter de la musique et en apprendre davantage sur les deux personnages.

HEY HARRY, Today was kind of a wash. I spent 15 minutes on hold with my bank before I pounded enough 00000000s into the phone to connect me to a real person. I was convinced this fraudulent entity called “SBUX” on my statement was slowly and erroneously taking money out of my account in $4 and $5 dollar increments. I was extremely put out that I had to spend my time dealing with this. I was really outraged. It turns out SBUX is Starbucks. I had to hang up on the customer service lady because she was being smug. Unrelated: Did you know Pomeranian is an adjective referring to Pomerania, an area divided between Poland and Germany? Maybe that’s why Pomeranians look so much like grandma. HEY MATILDA, Life is logistics. You’ve got to learn to deal with these daily annoyances, Mat. You’re too hard done by. Me, I make lists. You should make a list each morning and then follow it carefully. www.heyharryheymatilda.com

Une photo publiée par Matilda and Harry Goodman (@heyharryheymatilda) le

15 Sept. 2015 à 7h16 PDT

HEY HARRY, I just put 300 Christmas lights (so cheap off season!) on a tree that’s barely three feet high. If I look at it and then look away quickly, little dots swim across my field of vision. It’s pretty excellent. In other news, the lady across the street keeps her blinds about twelve inches raised, so that when she’s just out of the shower and her lights are on, I can see the swath of her upper thigh to her lower abdomen, and her pubic hair is a wild, distracting show. It’s like the classic ’70s pubic hair that you just don’t see anymore. The Brazilian bikini wax craze has had a really pervasive and detrimental effect on vaginas. This kind of thing is a rare occurrence now. Needless to say, I’m tremendously visually inspired right now. What’s new with you? (Don’t tell mom about the tree.)

Une photo publiée par Matilda and Harry Goodman (@heyharryheymatilda) le

15 Sept. 2015 à 7h38 PDT

HEY MATILDA, Two resounding thoughts from my weekend. One: There was a woman in the newspaper saying she doesn’t like French kissing. This has caused problems in her marriage, but she just can’t bring herself to do it. I feel somewhat vindicated by this. But I won’t say I told you so. Two: I watched basketball for a while on TV and had the realization that fouls are bad, not good! You don’t actually want to make them. That clears up some things for me about seventh grade gym. That’s all for today— I’m off to grade some disappointing papers. HEY HARRY, I don’t remember you telling me you don’t like French kissing, but I’ll let you tacitly tell me so. I just got home and these were the contents of my mailbox, so I made a list. I don’t like what this says about me, it doesn’t seem true. It seems a touch more obnoxious than I imagine myself to be, truthfully. A. Two Ivy League Alumni magazines B. Two New Yorkers C. Two New York Magazines D. One Economist Magazine (This fellow seems ill-prepared for his cover moment, no? I would have made a flattering picture, Harry. But no one asked me.) #heyharryheymatilda

Une photo publiée par Matilda and Harry Goodman (@heyharryheymatilda) le

16 Sept. 2015 à 6h51 PDT

HEY MATILDA, The boyfriend reads the Economist? I give you two seven more months at the outside. I’m sorry you’ve forgotten that I don’t like kissing, but I’m sure you do remember that I like to get all my important correspondence out to folks on Tuesday mornings, as that’s when they’re most likely to read and respond. Tuesday between 10 and 11am. After coffee, before lunch haze. So hopefully I have your full attention right now. I think you’re having bad luck, to be sure, with this residency stuff, but I also think your energy isn’t in the right place. I just read this great book called Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. It teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness and greatly improve the quality of our lives. Try it, M. Here are some chapter headers: The Waste of Free Time The Rules of the Games of the Mind Flow through the Senses: The Joys of Seeing Disorder in Consciousness: Psychic Energy Now go make some work! Make, make, create! Don’t analyze it, and don’t yell at bank operators. Also: I saw an undergrad with a bowl cut and high striped socks on campus today, and it reminded me of you in your field hockey glory. You know, sports are a flow activity too. One more thing, Matilda- bird watching is also a flow activity. You can get iBird Explorer for your mobile device. Then you can identify birds. And lay off the bourbon please. HEY HARRY, Great tip on the bird watching. Remind me again when I’m fifty and live in backwoods Maine. And keep your eyes off those coeds. #heyharryheymatilda ps these two remind me of us.

Une photo publiée par Matilda and Harry Goodman (@heyharryheymatilda) le

16 Sept. 2015 à 10h09 PDT

La suite de l'histoire est sur Instagram.