From chapter 1 of Electronic Literature by Scott Rettberg and the article Electronic Literature: What is
it? by N. Katherine Hayles, the most interesting idea, and best shown, is the existence that E-lit has in a
it? by N. Katherine Hayles, the most interesting idea, and best shown, is the existence that E-lit has in a
physical form. As was mentioned in the article, digital literature has less of a solid form and it has had
the issue of how to store and maintain it. As Hayles states,"The situation is exacerbated by the fluid
nature of digital media; whereas books printed on good quality paper can endure for centuries,
electronic literature routinely becomes unplayable (and hence unreadable) after a decade or even less."
This is something that is both interesting and makes a statement when reading the physical copy of
Electronic Literature. Rettberg does address the choice to use print as it has a more permanent and
unchanging state. As well, it settles as something that can last, without update or modification.This was
the issue of how to store and maintain it. As Hayles states,"The situation is exacerbated by the fluid
nature of digital media; whereas books printed on good quality paper can endure for centuries,
electronic literature routinely becomes unplayable (and hence unreadable) after a decade or even less."
This is something that is both interesting and makes a statement when reading the physical copy of
Electronic Literature. Rettberg does address the choice to use print as it has a more permanent and
unchanging state. As well, it settles as something that can last, without update or modification.This was
something that the article expands on, explaining the process and development of what is now digital
literature. One example was the use of hypertext to write or create which turned into a new kind of
media to learn, saved on CDs (Hayles). In this way, the purpose that digital literature has is ever-
expanding and proves to be a media that functions separate to print, although they do collide.
media to learn, saved on CDs (Hayles). In this way, the purpose that digital literature has is ever-
expanding and proves to be a media that functions separate to print, although they do collide.
One point that also caught my attention was the fact that digital media is changing and becomes
inaccessible over time. As I tried to research Donna Leishman's The Possession of Christian Shaw, I
couldn't access the interactive media because google chrome blocks Flash Player, which it needed to
run the program. Maybe the fault was mine but digital changes like that are what the article was talking
about where over time, software changes and becomes incompatible. I found an article talking about the
run the program. Maybe the fault was mine but digital changes like that are what the article was talking
about where over time, software changes and becomes incompatible. I found an article talking about the
announcement that Adobe made in 2017 and what things would be converted to. My question for
everyone is: Is there another way to access Donna Leishman's work? The End of Flash?
Also, I researched the poet mentioned in the article, Stephanie Strickland, who has published many
electronic poems. Her poems are archived in the Woodland Pattern Bookcenter online. One cool thing
about this page is that they have selected poems under the description of the author as a way to
debut the author with some credibility of what others agree to be her good works. Stephanie Strickland
J!ll!an
The end of Flash is right, and you make a good point that also echoes Rettberg's discussion of preservation. For Leishman's "The Possession of Christian Shaw (& other work: http://www.6amhoover.com/, one of which we'll look at later this semester), you need a Flash player enabled. Flash was an accessible software that really had an e-lit boom, and many author/artists had to learn a new language to create advanced, interactive works again. There are ongoing conversations about preservation, in 2013 the first works of e-lit were "inducted" into the Library of Congress, and Dene Grigar, former president of the ELO, conducts Traversals (we will also discuss), video documentation of readings of e-lit on their original platform (and hardware), currently mostly the Storyspace, floppy drive, and early html works. Unfortunately, nothing as simple as ActionScript is out there.
ReplyDeleteI remember having issues with flash almost ever since I began using it, even when it was the main application of its kind. Now that it is leaving it is alarming considering the work it could also leave behind. I'm curious what will be the next step in e-lit production and preservation. with any luck, the same product used to generate and animate will also be vital in preserving the works as well.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting how you mentioned the fact that as technology continues to increase, it can make digital literature less accessible, depending on what you have access to. I think this could cause problems as digital literature continues to evolve, since not everyone will be able to have equal access to it.
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