curation

Listed as one of the main themes of the Bergen 2015 ELO conference is the following question: is “electronic literature” a transitional term that will become obsolete as literary uses of computational media and devices become ubiquitous? If so, what comes after electronic literature?

The notion of obsolescence has been a recurring issue in electronic literature since at least 2002, the date of the ELO Conference at UCLA. At that time, archiving became a general concern in the field. ELO responded with documents such as Born-Again Bits, Acid-Free Bits, and the ELC 1 and 2 Collections. Since that time, with the continual evolution of computational media and devices, the problems of archiving have continued to grow more complicated. The panel proposes to address issues of Archiving based on this re-wording of the conference theme: is electronic literature a transitional practice that will become obsolete as the multiplication of forms of both computational media and devices make literary artifacts more and more difficult to preserve?

The panel will include Leonardo Flores and the ELC 3 Collective, Marjorie C. Luesebrink (M.D. Coverley), Rui Torres, and Stephanie Strickland. Topics to be addressed by the panel will include the following: Stephanie Strickland, “Six Questions for Born-Digital Archivists”; Rui Torres, “Interfacing the Archive: (Ab)Using the PO.EX Digital Archive”; Leonardo Flores/Stephanie Boluk/Jacob Garbe/ Anastasia Salter, “The Electronic Literature Collection Volume 3 (ELC3) Editorial Collective presentation”; Marjorie C. Luesebrink, “The creation of Women Innovate: Contributions to Electronic Literature (1990-2010) by Marjorie Luesebrink and Stephanie Strickland”.

(source: ELO 2015 conference catalog)

Notes on the seminar given by Dene Grigar at the University of Coimbra:

Words were once untraceable. Before the invention of writing, they would disappear as soon as they were shared. Writing turned words into discernible shapes. Print, in turn, allowed a precise control over the surface of inscription and, by extension, over language. Books are often related to fixity and durability and they are seen as stable and self-contained objects built to last. However, Dene Grigar believes that all texts, regardless of the format being used, are prone to obsolescence or deterioration. Like words in oral tradition, texts can fall into oblivion if they are not preserved or remembered.

(Source: Author's Introduction)

This panel session will explore the curation of electronic or born-digital materials in literary manuscript collections. Speakers will discuss how they applied (or tried to apply) traditional archival theories of appraisal, transfer, processing, preservation, and access to electronic records within their collections. The session will interest writers and artists, scholars, and curators and archivists specializing in electronic media and provide a unique chance for intellectual exchange between these groups.

(Source: 2008 ELO Conference site)

What follows is an explanation of the logic underlying this idea of curating the "Electronic Literature" exhibit and a rearticulation of our curatorial statements, viewed now in retrospect. Dene Grigar begins by introducing our underlying views and includes her revised statement for "Works on Desktop." Lori Emerson follows with her statement on "Readings and Performances;" Kathi Inman Berens ends the essay with her statement on "Mobile and Geolocative" works.

Source: from the article (3)

Electronic literature produced in programmable media – such as kinetic or randomly recombined and generated texts, interactive narratives, hyperfictions or poems that appear as moving letters – require a reconceptualization of the reading process and the development of new concepts for evaluating works of (electronic) literature. This accomplishment is essential for undertaking preservation and requires sustainable review mechanisms. What follows is not a transcription into electronic media of established work from the print canon; rather, the initiatives under way at the Electronic Literature Organization have to do with born-digital works, and works in many media that may have anticipated the full-blown emergence of a native, „electronic literature“, „net literature“, or „new media writing“ (to name just three designations for the emergent field), whose profile is coming into being even as the works are being created and designated as a part of the literary tradition. With this media-specific task in mind, in 2007 the Electronic Literature Organization (ELO) was entrusted by the Library of Congress with archiving 300 URLs in collaboration with the web-based archiving service „Archive-It“.

This paper will first discuss the ELO’s review model in the light of the aesthetically complex composition of literary texts that mix media. It will then consider the complexity of works on a technical level by reporting on difficulties with harvesting electronic literature that have been produced with flash or JavaScript: technical concerns about archiving need to be considered when describing and tagging works. Finally, this paper will provide an example for reviewing, evaluating, and archiving variable media art works like electronic literature.