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- Sep 2024
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eliterature.org eliterature.org
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Electronic literature, generally considered to exclude print literature that has been digitized, is by contrast "digital born," a first-generation digital object created on a computer and (usually) meant to be read on a computer. The Electronic Literature Organization, whose mission is to "promote the writing, publishing, and reading of literature in electronic media," convened a committee headed by Noah Wardrip-Fruin, himself a creator and critic of electronic literature, to come up with a definition appropriate to this new field. The committee's choice was framed to include both work performed in digital media and work created on a computer but published in print (as, for example, was Brian Kim Stefans's computer-generated poem "Stops and Rebels"). The committee's formulation: "work with an important literary aspect that takes advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-alone or networked computer."
This definition provides a useful framework for understanding and appreciating electronic literature. It successfully balances the emphasis on technological innovation with the core values of literature, acknowledging its inherent dynamism and potential for future evolution. The inclusion of computer-generated works published in print adds to its comprehensiveness, but further discussion and refinement may be needed to address potential ambiguities in classification.
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