crissxross

The Electronic Literature Directory is a resource for readers and writers of born-digital literature. Created by the Electronic Literature Organization, it provides an extensive database listing electronic works, their authors, and their publishers. The descriptive entries are drafted by a community of e-lit authors who also tag each work and identify the techniques used in its creation. Discussions of entries are ongoing and offer a networked, peer-to-peer model for literary review.

This will be a great resource of e-literature, and already contains a substantial amount of work, but it’s just the beginning, there is much more to add! Anyone with an account can submit entries to the Directory (but authors may not write about their own works) and entries must be about e-literature (defined below) although e-lit antecedents, such as Raymond Queneau’s 100,000,000,000,000 Poems, are included.

Electronic Literature refers to works with important literary aspects that take advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-alone or networked computer.

See also the lively debate here: Electronic Literature Directory Gets a Redesign, in response to the question posed, “What do you think about electronic literature? Has it lived up to the hype?”

On a personal note

Visiting the Directory the other day, I was delighted to see some of my early works entered – a surprise too! How odd it felt to read an interpretation of  Heights, that I hadn’t quite intended:

With an eerie sound of wind blowing, the poem describes a fall from the Heights. On its surface, the piece describes a journey to the top of a building and a near disastrous slip. Taken metaphorically, Heights tells a story of faith and doubt, as the writer struggles to hold on for fear of falling.

Certainly, it’s a valid interpretation and I sincerely appreciate it, but since I don’t personally subscribe to a faith, it surprised me. I was tempted to log in to add a qualifying note – my reflex reaction – but really, once a work is published and out there, it has a life of its own. Who am I to meddle? What authority do I have to privilege some interpretations over others? Indeed, thanks Tanci, for making me look at Heights afresh.