post-processing

This paper originates from a conference paper presented and published in the book collection OLE Officina di Letteratura Elettronica. The here presented paper publication appears with minor edits.German net literature had an early and very public start through competitions organized in 1996-8 by the major newspaper Die Zeit and IBM, but was declared dead or stillborn immediately afterwards. Consequently, net literature became a subject of controversy between artists, theorists, and literary critics from which not only a strong community evolved but also a literary system. In this system, competitions served as public, peer-reviewed mediators for net literature and became an important feature of “post-processing.” Since the end of the 90s however, German net literature became slowly invisible. The lack of public awareness of net literature is common to many countries. Post-processing is a key for public visibility and according to Siegfried J. Schmidt et al. an important component in a literary system. In search of reasons for the state of invisibility of German net literature, I analyze mechanisms of post-processing in our community, which I regard as a literary system. This descriptive synopsis is the first paper in an upcoming series that opens up questions towards the role of peer-review, public reception, and artists' community-building. 

How and where would we have to begin if we want to bring the rather diverseGerman-language scene of net literature to a closer attention of our European colleagues?This definitely is no easy task, since today there are virtually no forums and archives ofGerman-language net literature existing anymore. Therefore it may not be possible to get anaccurate picture of the last 20 years’ net literature. Many sites and forums have been deletedfrom the net, while others remain virtually inactive for years and have to be perceived asinternet archive corpses. A few are still active and provide material for current discussions.

Source: Author's Introduction

Electronic literature is an important evolving field of artistic practice and literary study. It is a sector of digital humanities focused specifically on born-digital literary artifacts, rather than on using the computer and the network to redistribute, analyze, or recontextualize artifacts of print culture. Works of electronic literature appeal to configurative reading practices. The field of electronic literature is based on a gift economy and developing a network-based literary culture built on the collaborative practices of a globally distributed community of artists, writers, and scholars. This article situates the development of the field of electronic literature within academe, some of the institutional challenges currently confronting the field, and its potential for further development.

Source: author's abstract (dhq)

A draft version of this article was presented as "Communitizing Electronic Literature" at the 2008 ELO Conference.

The workshop is meant to make use of the present scholars from diverse language backgrounds as a resource to document their field in their original language. It focuses in particular on documenting works and papers written in languages other than English and seeks to draft translations for descriptions. An endeavour all those who do not have an understanding of a respective language, are dependent upon in order to give a particular language community the visibility they are in need of to allow appropriate scholarship in a particular nation.

A work without translation is a blind spot in research for those unfamiliar with its language of origin. The English translation provides, at least the chance to be recognized in research and offers a starting point for a dialogue with its author.

Cultural and Linguistic Diversity - Features in the Knowledge Base

As an international project, the linguistic diversity in the field of electronic literature is respected, welcomed, and taken into account within the implementation of various features in the knowledge base:

Records describing people (author, translator, programmer etc.) working in the field of electronic literature are presented along with their place of residency and nationality. Creative Works are labeled with the language origin, additionally, descriptions of creative works originating from another language than English are provided in both the original language and in translation. While cross-referenced, creative works that have been translated such as afternoon, a story, or works by Serge Bouchardon are provided in single, individual records in both the original language, and English.

In the introductory presentation to the workshop, I will point out features in the database that make visible the national diversity and multilinguality in the field. The database serves as a resource for various entities: researchers, teachers, students, and a general readership. It is meant to support the teaching and research practice in environments focused on works and critical writing other than English. 

Often, the absence of a central venue for the display of creative works and scholarship and the fact that people's efforts are not consolidated and systematized can lead to a number of consequences that may hinder development of electronic literature in practice and academia in nascent communities. Understood as a means of post-processing, the ELMCIP Electronic Literature Knowledge Base provides a setting to feature diverse national communities, their creative works and scholarship. Having a non-English community in mind however, it is of importance to present scholarly and artistic assets in the original language, as well as in a common one.

German net literature had an early and very public start through competitions organized in 1996-8 by the major newspaper Die Zeit and IBM, but was declared dead or stillborn immediately afterwards. Consequently, net literature became a subject of controversy between artists, theorists, and literary critics from which not only a strong community evolved but also a literary system. In this system, competitions served as public, peer-reviewed mediators for net literature and became an important feature of “post-processing.” Since the end of the 90s however, German net literature became slowly invisible. The lack of public awareness of net literature is common to many countries. Post-processing is a key for public visibility and according to Siegfried J. Schmidt et al. an important component in a literary system. In search of reasons for the state of invisibility of German net literature, I analyze mechanisms of post-processing in our community, which I regard as a literary system. This descriptive synopsis is the first paper in an upcoming series that opens up questions towards the role of peer-review, public reception, and artists' community-building.