Introduction to Rebooting Electronic Literature
Rebooting Electronic Literature is an open-source, multimedia book that documents pre-web works of electronic literature from the library from the Electronic Literature Lab (ELL) directed by Dene Grigar at Washington State University Vancouver. The book is a natural outgrowth from Grigar and Stuart Moulthrop's Pathfinders project, building out the research methodology developed from that endeavor to continue providing access and preserving important works of electronic literature made fragile by hardware, software, and media formats.
The seven works selected for this volume are among the most unique and fragile of ELL's library. Sarah Smith's King of Space (1991), the first documented e-lit work of science fiction, was produced with Hypercard 2.0 and a specially created programming language called Kingwriter. David Kolb's Socrates in the Labyrinth (1994) is one of a handful of hypertext essays produced during the pre-web period and certainly the only one focusing on philosophy. Jane Yellowlees Douglas' "I Have Said Nothing" (1993), which––along with Michael Joyce’s afternoon: a story––appeared in W. W. Norton & Co.’s Postmodern American Fiction (1997), the only works of electronic literature ever published in one of its many collections. Other works we cover in this book include Thomas M. Disch's AMNESIA (1986); Mary-Kim Arnold's "Lust" (1993); Rob Kendall's Life Set for Two (1996); and Judy Malloy's its name was Penelope (1989,1993).
As with the works documented in the Pathfinders project, these seven were produced with specially created software like Kingwriter and the King Edward Adventure game authoring system or proprietary software, Storyspace and HyperCard. All require a degree of interactivity between the reader and the work. They were also among the first computer-based works of literature to be sold commercially in the U.S. and, because of their availability through commercial distribution, were influential in shaping literary theory and criticism that, today, are used to discuss born digital writing. All but AMNESIA and its name was Penelope are literary works in danger of becoming inaccessible to the public because they were produced on and for computer platforms that today are obsolete.
Our method of documentation follows that of Pathfinders, save two innovations: We live-streamed the Traversals via YouTube and captured audience participation during the event through YouTube live chat and social media networks, Facebook and Twitter. These additions allowed us to better achieve the goal that underpins the Pathfinders methodology––that is, to document the experience of early digital literature.
In developing the project, we continue to provide information helpful to scholars. Publication dates, versions, production methods have been vetted by publishers and artists when possible. Thus, we hope to clear up discrepancies relating to this information as well as offer information previously unknown about these works. Jane Yellowlees Douglas' "I Have Said Nothing," for example, has a publication date of 1993 but appears in the Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext in Winter 1994. The CD version was released in 1998. Precise information helps to ensure authority control and mitigate confusion and ambiguity.
This open-source, multimedia book is made possible by the Lewis E. and Stella G. Buchanan Distinguished Professorship and support by Washington State University Vancouver. Many other individuals and organizations provided support for our research.
From the Creative Media & Digital Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver, Professor Nicholas Schiller served as the lead co-author of the book. Undergraduate research assistants in the Electronic Literature Lab undertook much of the content development for the book. Vanessa Rhodes wrote the descriptions of the physical artifacts relating to the seven works; Veronica Whitney and Katie Bowen, both photographed the physical artifacts and optimized them for presentation; and Mariah Gwin created the video clips from the video captured from the live stream and prepared them for the book. Greg Philbrook provided tech support for most traversals and interviews. Finally, we adapted the design that Professor Will Luers, faculty member in the CMDC program, created for Pathfinders.
The seven works selected for this volume are among the most unique and fragile of ELL's library. Sarah Smith's King of Space (1991), the first documented e-lit work of science fiction, was produced with Hypercard 2.0 and a specially created programming language called Kingwriter. David Kolb's Socrates in the Labyrinth (1994) is one of a handful of hypertext essays produced during the pre-web period and certainly the only one focusing on philosophy. Jane Yellowlees Douglas' "I Have Said Nothing" (1993), which––along with Michael Joyce’s afternoon: a story––appeared in W. W. Norton & Co.’s Postmodern American Fiction (1997), the only works of electronic literature ever published in one of its many collections. Other works we cover in this book include Thomas M. Disch's AMNESIA (1986); Mary-Kim Arnold's "Lust" (1993); Rob Kendall's Life Set for Two (1996); and Judy Malloy's its name was Penelope (1989,1993).
As with the works documented in the Pathfinders project, these seven were produced with specially created software like Kingwriter and the King Edward Adventure game authoring system or proprietary software, Storyspace and HyperCard. All require a degree of interactivity between the reader and the work. They were also among the first computer-based works of literature to be sold commercially in the U.S. and, because of their availability through commercial distribution, were influential in shaping literary theory and criticism that, today, are used to discuss born digital writing. All but AMNESIA and its name was Penelope are literary works in danger of becoming inaccessible to the public because they were produced on and for computer platforms that today are obsolete.
Our method of documentation follows that of Pathfinders, save two innovations: We live-streamed the Traversals via YouTube and captured audience participation during the event through YouTube live chat and social media networks, Facebook and Twitter. These additions allowed us to better achieve the goal that underpins the Pathfinders methodology––that is, to document the experience of early digital literature.
In developing the project, we continue to provide information helpful to scholars. Publication dates, versions, production methods have been vetted by publishers and artists when possible. Thus, we hope to clear up discrepancies relating to this information as well as offer information previously unknown about these works. Jane Yellowlees Douglas' "I Have Said Nothing," for example, has a publication date of 1993 but appears in the Eastgate Quarterly Review of Hypertext in Winter 1994. The CD version was released in 1998. Precise information helps to ensure authority control and mitigate confusion and ambiguity.
This open-source, multimedia book is made possible by the Lewis E. and Stella G. Buchanan Distinguished Professorship and support by Washington State University Vancouver. Many other individuals and organizations provided support for our research.
From the Creative Media & Digital Culture Program at Washington State University Vancouver, Professor Nicholas Schiller served as the lead co-author of the book. Undergraduate research assistants in the Electronic Literature Lab undertook much of the content development for the book. Vanessa Rhodes wrote the descriptions of the physical artifacts relating to the seven works; Veronica Whitney and Katie Bowen, both photographed the physical artifacts and optimized them for presentation; and Mariah Gwin created the video clips from the video captured from the live stream and prepared them for the book. Greg Philbrook provided tech support for most traversals and interviews. Finally, we adapted the design that Professor Will Luers, faculty member in the CMDC program, created for Pathfinders.
Finally, we thank the Electronic Literature Organization for its leadership in developing methods for evaluating quality of “digital” creative and critical works and its insights into cataloging its growing body of “digital” fiction, poetry, and other literary forms––activities from which this research grows.
Funders and Collaborators
