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Electronic Literature

The Novel and Its Forms

Electronic literature, or digital literature, is a genre of literature in which digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically. Works of electronic literature are usually intended to be read on digital devices such as computers, tablets and mobile phones; many cannot easily be printed, or cannot be printed at all, because elements crucial to the work do not survive being carried over onto a printed version.

Facts
Place of Origin
British computing research of the early 1950s, exemplified by Christopher Strachey's 1952 love letter generator written for the Manchester Mark 1 computer, among the first works of literature requiring a computer to be generated or read. 1
Notable Example
Michael Joyce's afternoon, a story (1987), one of the most cited works of hypertext fiction, published on the Storyspace software distributed by Eastgate Systems. 1
Defining Trait
A genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically, usually meant to be read on a digital device rather than printed. 1
Origin Year
1950 1
Defining Trait
Form and Technique 1
Electronic Literature
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FAQs

What is considered the first work of electronic literature?

Probably Christopher Strachey's 1952 love letter generator.

The 1952 love letter generator that the British computer scientist Christopher Strachey wrote for the Manchester Mark 1 computer is probably the first example of literature that requires a computer to be generated or read.
Connections

Subgenres

Source Hypertext fiction - Wikipedia
Sources
1. Electronic Literature (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation
  • Lead section
    Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically.
  • Lead paragraph
    created in the 1950s
  • Lead paragraph, defining sentence
    Electronic literature or digital literature is a genre of literature where digital capabilities such as interactivity, multimodality or algorithmic text generation are used aesthetically.
View the Source
Hypertext fiction - Wikipedia
Subgenres: Hypertext Fiction, Lead paragraph
Quote, Subgenres: Hypertext Fiction, Lead paragraph
is a genre of electronic literature
View the Source
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