Tag Archives: ELO

Electronic Literature Collection, Vol. 2

The Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 2, launched on the web last week, is an anthology of works by an international group of authors “that pushes through the boundaries of literary forms, creating new kinds of experiences for interacting readers.”  And, I’m delighted to say, it includes two of my works – Fitting the Pattern and Tailspin.

Published by the Electronic Literature Organisation, and edited by Laura Borràs, Talan Memmott, Rita Raley, and Brian Kim Stefans, Volume 2 picks up where the first volume, ELC1, left off.

The new collection includes 63 works drawn from (and extending beyond):

  • Countries: Austria, Australia, Catalonia, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Israel, The Netherlands, Portugal, Peru, Spain, UK, US
  • Languages: Catalan, Dutch, English, French, German, Portuguese, Spanish
  • Formats: Flash, Processing, Java, JavaScript, Inform, HTML, C++

Like ELC1, the collection can be browsed by author, title, or keyword.

ELC2 speaks to both the continuity as well as the bright future of electronic literature. The works include many of the emerging categories of e-lit: mash-ups, geolocative, codework, as well as “traditional” and evolving forms such as hypertext, chatbots, and interactive fiction. The authors list presents readers with both veterans and newcomers to the field.

The collection is also available on DVD for free on request from the ELO.

ELC2 is published under a Creative Commons license, which means the collection can be freely shared, non-commercially, between individuals, libraries, and schools, provided that appropriate attribution is maintained and the works are unmodified.

16 February 2011 by crissxross | Posted in crissxross, exhibiting + presenting | Also tagged , , , , | Comments (0)

Augmented e-poetry at ELO_AI

Strange things can happen to the reader when printed matter unlocks digital delights!

ELO_AI Arts Installation

ELO_AI Arts Program Installations

In early June an international collection of e-lit was installed in a gallery setting in downtown Providence (Rhode Island, USA) for the Arts Program of the Electronic Literature Organization 2010 Conference (ELO_AI), including my own piece, Underbelly. There were many wonderful works presented but I’d like to pick out a few that made me think about transliteracy in particular: Requiem, Ethereal Landscapes and Between Page And Screen.

The creators of these works augment their digital art and e-poetry with print, employing a delightful topsy-turvy kind of transliteracy, whereby the printed matter becomes a device for reading the digital, rather than the usual way remediation goes when texts originated for print are digitized. Reading these works, you wonder, where is the poem, where is the story? The poem, the art is powerfully and clearly present, but you’re aware that it doesn’t exist in the computer and it doesn’t exist on the page – it’s between these realms, slipping and sliding along the virtuality continuum – or perhaps it’s the reader who is transliterately sliding around in mixed reality?

It’s an experience that simultaneously displaces and enchants the human reader. It slides you into a magical zone where somehow your corporeal reading equipment – eyes (and reading glasses) – have been substituted by a black & white graphic and a webcam or barcode reader. It’s only when, and if, you allow yourself to be transformed like this that the poetry appears for you.

Have a look at the works, see where they take you… Read More »

29 June 2010 by crissxross | Posted in exhibiting + presenting | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)

Electronic Literature Directory launches

Electronic Literature Directory

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.

18 May 2010 by crissxross | Posted in crissxross, exhibiting + presenting | Also tagged , , | Comments (0)