What is Interowriting? – Alice Mazzilli

Notes on Interowriting:

Interowriting is a process based on the study of the discipline of writing and human perception, specifically Interoception, the theory which takes into consideration our interpretation of the signals coming from inside of the body and their interaction with the signals coming from outside, from our environment.

Each on of us has a different Interpretation of those signals. The expression of how we perceive those signals through the rhythm of writing generates an impression. The physicality of this impression is what I call Interowriting.

Interowriting pertains to the creation and articulation of an internal world that is not isolated but instead deeply interconnected with its surrounding environment, forming a cohesive ecological system. Through this lens, writing becomes not merely an isolated act but an active engagement within a larger, interdependent ecology, where individual perception and environmental influences coalesce to inform the process.

Interowriting is based on the rhythmic nature of writing. It is not merely the outcome of the individual’s work; rather, it is a group of practices taking shape and transforming through the power of the arbitrary symbols it employs. It makes the invisible visible—it does not reproduce but creates.

The Role of Emotion and Cognition in Interowriting

Neuroscientist Antonio Damasio has emphasized the fundamental importance of emotions in human cognition. His seminal work Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain challenges the Cartesian dualism of mind and body, proposing that reason cannot be separated from emotions. Instead, emotions are indispensable to decision-making, thought, and human behavior.

Damasio’s research illustrates that emotions provide essential feedback loops that guide cognitive processes. He argues that “reason is not as pure as most of us think it is or wish it were. Indeed, it is probably never entirely free of the influence of body and emotion” (Descartes’ Error, p. 245). By excluding emotions from reasoning, Damasio asserts, individuals lose crucial information that informs judgments, leading to poorer decision-making.

In the context of Interowriting, this understanding of emotions as intertwined with cognition becomes vital. Writing, often viewed as a purely intellectual act, is reimagined as an embodied practice that connects the mind and body. When writers engage in the act of writing, they do so not only with cognitive faculties but also through an emotional and sensory experience. As Damasio points out, emotions play a pivotal role in how we process the world and make sense of it. Therefore, they must also be integral to writing, which functions as a medium for both intellectual and emotional expression.

Interowriting integrates this understanding, suggesting that writing is not purely a mechanical or cerebral task but one deeply connected to the body’s internal states. Just as emotions influence thought, they also shape the rhythm, flow, and meaning of writing. The writer’s heartbeat, breathing patterns, and emotional states contribute to the physical movements of handwriting, as well as the content and tone of the writing itself. Writing, then, becomes an embodied process—one that reflects the dynamic interplay between body and environment.

This approach challenges traditional Western concepts of writing as merely a cognitive task and invites a broader perspective, where the sensory and emotional dimensions of writing are recognized as fundamental to the creation of meaning. By attuning to the body’s internal states through interoception, writers can cultivate a deeper and more conscious connection to their writing, allowing it to become an broader exploration of the human experience.

Beyond Language: Writing as an embodied Practice

Let’s think about writing in a way we might not usually consider. Writing isn’t just an act of expression or a tool; it’s more like an event, a rhythm, an imprint left behind that sparks new events. It’s not simply about putting ideas on paper; it’s about bringing those ideas to life, over and over again, in different ways each time.

Writing is the most sophisticated means we have for time travelling

Archeology of writing and contemporary developmentveling.

To understand what writing represents today, we must also examine it from an archaeological perspective.

No doubt that writing is the most sophisticated means we have for time traveling. It facilitates a flexible conception of space and time.

Writing is now undergoing one of its most significant transformations since the invention of the printing press. For the first time in the history of the Western phonetic alphabet, the latin alphabet—originally designed to represent spoken language—is being used in diverse ways. Today, due to the advent of technologies like computers, smartphones, and tablets, humanity is engaging with written communication on an unprecedented scale. These tools have fostered a global network of written interaction that prioritizes informality. Writing has shifted from a predominantly structured, formal exercise to one that mirrors casual, spoken conversation. We write with the expectation of immediate responses and receive near-instant feedback, creating a loop that accelerates the informality of language. As this cycle continues, formal writing is slowly fading, while informal writing is evolving at breakneck speed, reshaping our relationship with language. Speed itself has become the defining measure of progress—a trend we’ve seen in both the industrial age and the history of writing, where efficiency and brevity often take precedence over formality.

A key player in this shift is modern graffiti, which has radically detached the Western alphabet from its traditional, phonetic role. Graffiti uses letters not just to spell words, but to represent abstract concepts and identities, transforming traditional western writing. In this sense, graffiti can be seen as the contemporary evolution of cursive handwriting. The blending of images and text more closely resembles the ancient Mesopotamian relationship between image and text than what we’ve been accustomed to recognizing as writing over the past few centuries. It serves as a bridge between written language and visual culture, influencing how we think about letters and symbols.

Similarly, in the digital world, alphabetic symbols are being recontextualized through coding, where they no longer function as phonetic representations but as tools for constructing images, designing interfaces, and creating entire virtual worlds. This transformation highlights how writing is no longer solely a tool for human communication, but also a fundamental component of how we interact with machines. Increasingly, we are writing not just for human readers but for machines, using programming languages that turn alphabetic symbols into executable commands. Phonetic writing has, in this context, become a code—a bridge between human thought and the digital universe.

As we continue to integrate technology into every aspect of life, the evolution of writing reflects broader changes in how we communicate, create, and understand the world. From graffiti’s defiance of traditional norms to the abstraction of language in digital coding, the Western alphabet is undergoing a profound transformation, illustrating how writing adapts to the changing needs of human society.

Writing, as we traditionally conceive of it in the Western world, offers a relatively narrow perspective. The Western view largely revolves around the use of a phonetic alphabet, where symbols correspond directly to sounds. However, when we look at other writing systems throughout history—such as Egyptian hieroglyphs, Mayan glyphs, Cuneiform, Tibetan script, or Chinese characters, to name just a few—we see a much broader conception of what writing can be. In these systems, writing often goes beyond mere symbol-sound correspondence. It serves various purposes beyond communication, including divination, spiritual manifestation, and ritualistic practices.

For instance, Egyptian hieroglyphs were deeply intertwined with religious symbolism, functioning as sacred representations of both spoken words and cosmic forces. Mayan glyphs similarly conveyed complex ideas about time, astronomy, and mythological cycles. In China, calligraphy is revered not only for its aesthetic beauty but also for its connection to philosophy and the embodiment of qi (life force) through the act of writing itself. These examples¹ reflect writing as a multifaceted tool—one that bridges the tangible and the intangible, the material and the spiritual.

Despite the many changes we’ve seen in writing over time, it remains a crucial part of our human experience—something we must both preserve and expand. Writing, in all its forms, carries movement and rhythm, much like a living entity. Each of us has developed a unique personal rhythm from our life experiences, which is reflected in our handwriting —truly as distinctive as fingerprints. In ancient China, it was believed that handwriting reveals a person’s true character and in The Zhuang, an ethnic minority of southern China, writing is even considered a gift of the gods as precious as the one of fire.³

This broader, global view of writing challenges the Western tradition, revealing that writing can be an act of creation, a medium for expressing divine will, or a ritualized practice, far beyond the functional transcription of sounds into symbols. It invites us to rethink the limitations we’ve placed on the concept of writing and to consider the diverse ways humans have used it to connect with the world, the cosmos, and themselves.

The process is particularly interested in considering this ecosystem, one based on “territory” from a Deleuzian/Guattarian perspective. In this regard, I’d like to cite a segment from an interview with Deleuze concerning territory and art which I find particularly relevant in regards of this paper:

[…] What fascinates me are matters of territory. With Guattari we came up with a concept, the idea of territory, territorial animals are extraordinary. For me, to constitute a territory is very nearly the birth of art. We all know how an animal marks its territory. […] But it’s much more: what is involved in the marking of a territory is also a series of postures, for example to lower oneself down and lift oneself up. A series of colors: Baboons for example have their buttocks red which they display at territorial borders. Color, song, posture: these are the three determinants of art. Colors and lines, animal postures can form veritable lines. Color, line, song that’s art in its pure state. […]

Check Omniglot.com the online encyclopedia of writing scripts and languages, endangeredalphabets.net and Writing Beyond Writing by Tim Brooks for an extensive treatise on the subject
This context has been discussed during the conference with Dr. Cory Crawford from Ohio University and his paper on ‘Relating Image and Word in Ancient Mesopotamia’ particularly the study of the Idrimi statue (British Museum)
Writing Beyond Writing by Tim Brooks – p.11
Gilles Deleuze’s alphabet book: A for Animal “Gilles Deleuze’s alphabet book” is a French television program produced by Pierre-André Boutang in 1988–1989, consisting of an eight-hour series of interviews between Gilles Deleuze and Claire Parnet. Available on YouTube L’Abécédaire de GILLES DELEUZE: A comme Animal (HD)

Process

To illustrate the principles of Interowriting in practice, I have developed performances such as Jamigraphy and The Walking Wall. These performances explore the embodied, improvisational, and collaborative dimensions of writing.

The performances consist of six contexts: space, time, weight, environments, visceral awareness, and rhythm. Each context is composed of and developed through specific exercises and individual and/or collective activities.

Space:
The physical environment in which one writes can deeply influence the act of writing. This includes the location, the arrangement of work, the presence of sounds, lights, and other sensory stimulations. It also includes research on the themes of deterritorialization and territorialization.

Time:
The speed and rhythm of movement are considered, distinguishing between fast time (sudden) and slow time (sustained). The temporal flow, i.e., how movement unfolds over time, including pauses and changes in rhythm.
The goal of Interowriting is also to facilitate a form of detemporalization, leaving a trace of the present in the past.

Weight:
The use of energy and force in movement is analyzed. A distinction is made between light movement and heavy movement. Consideration is given to how the body’s weight is distributed and transferred during movement.

Environments:
Environments are not only physical but also emotional and psychological. The writer’s mood and mental state, predominant emotions, and cultural and social influences play a significant role. Awareness of both internal and external environments can enrich the act of writing.
Each environment is vibratory, meaning a block of space-time constituted by the periodic repetition of its components.

Visceral Awareness:
Interoception. Awareness of one’s bodily sensations and internal emotions during writing is one of the goals of the performances. Posture, breathing, muscle tension, and other physical sensations can influence both the creative process and the final product. Attention to the body helps maintain a connection between the writer’s internal world and the form being created.

Rhythm:
Analysis of how the aforementioned elements are linked together, producing a repetition in the rhythm of writing, which is different for each individual.

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