AN ESSAY ON ELECTRONIC LITERATURE AS PLATFORM
AN ESSAY ON ELECTRONIC LITERATURE AS PLATFORM

Summary/Abstract: Electronic literature has expanded its limits, going beyond issues of definition, genre, and poetics, and developing into something more than literature. The goal of this paper is to address problems related to the discussion and meaning of electronic literature, something that elides a precise definition and clear-cut boundaries. Pawlicka’s article is based on the conviction that electronic literature has developed from a field that was institutionalized by the Electronic Literature Organization into a set of practices. The first part reflects upon changes in electronic literature, changes that compel researchers towards new considerations. This section refers to questions posed by N. Katherine Hayles and Dene Grigar and leads to a vital question, “Electronic Literature: How Is It?”. The question of “how” suggests a shift towards the idea of process; a fresh perspective is implied, one that is related to notions of action, practice, and application. This paper therefore introduces an innovative approach to researching electronic literature, namely a processual approach that is open to changes, revisions, and explorations. It in turn goes far beyond seeing electronic literature as simply a narrow field of literature within digital culture. Instead of that, it offers a new perspective on electronic literature, which is considered as a platform for digital research, textuality, art, and other forms of expression. These ideas are covered in the last part, which presents electronic literature as a platform for textual, artistic, and technological experiments, undertaken by writers, artists, designers, and programmers. This incorporates digital creative writing and creative programming, as well as trans/interdisciplinary research.

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