Scott,
I appreciated your comments. As an instructor of college writing, I
particularly noted the the following statement:
>Writing well is an elitist activity.
I will continue to weigh the implications of this statement for some time,
I'm sure.
Stella Thompson
Assistant Professor/English
Prairie View A&M University
Texas A&M University System
USA
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2005 5:12 PM
> Rajesh: here is my take on the issue. It is an obvious one I'm afraid. I'm
> used to finding my foot in my mouth. Cheers, scott malby
>
> From the 14 th. to the twentieth century , western literature was defined
as
> written material that was culturally deemed worth saving. The material was
> copied or reproduced on various forms of thin material and stitched into
> bound volumes. Inks were used. It is interesting that this written
material
> early in its development reflected oral story telling traditions. It had a
> linear aspect and narrative in the sense of your having to turn pages and
> follow through time events or situations. I started with the 14th. century
> because that is when the word *literature* began to come into use from a
> western European perspective but the written word developed from
pictograms,
> evolved into hieroglyphics and morphed into complex written languages in
> Egypt, China, and the city states of the Tigris and Euphrates around 6,000
> B.P.
>
> Hey, so far so good. A great deal of archaeological and cultural evidence
> leads up us to this point. Digital literature is electronically produced
> media. It requires no ink. As is true with any invention, digital
literature
> first copied the old print technology and augmented its production. Print
on
> demand books are an example. However, we are now beginning to see the
medium
> come into its own. Previously, such a development would have taken 40 to a
> hundred years to accomplish. Time scales have changed and speeded up to
> exponential levels. This is not only a new world but a strange new world
as
> well. As it is electronically produced, digital media can do things the
> older print technology was unable to. We can follow threads, go off on
> tangents, hyperlink to sources, etc.
>
> We don't know what a mature digital literature will look like or take us
> because we simply are no longer able to predict the future beyond a 10
year
> developmental span as everything is changing so fast. Beyond 10 years we
> don't even know if the personal computer will be relevant as we use it
> today. What we can say is that the way we read will and is already
changing.
> Many ezines today are certainly as good and maybe better than their print
> counterparts. Libraries are now in the process of becoming electronic
> repositories. What is going on is a world cultural transformation. Digital
> media combines words, sound and images in new and interesting ways.
> *Literature* may be too limiting a word for what is happening. Story
telling
> is now able to combine elements to the story telling tradition that were
> lost with the advent of the written word. Digital writers are more like
the
> old tradition of spiritual scribes as they are now able to incorporate the
> lost elements of the spoken word as in Irish and Homeric traditions. The
> concept of their work as *Literature* in the aspect of something that is
> worth culturally saving is another question but certainly true in the
> future. Writing well is an elitist activity. No problem with that as it
has
> always been the case. The one-to-one reach of digital literature means a
> proliferation of forms designed for a specific audience that could not be
> satisfied in the past because of scales of economy. It was too expensive.
> Now, everyone can have their own site in cyberspace. We are now
experiencing
> this. It means more choices and definitions of value rather than less. A
> radical reconceptualization of literature as printed artifact is already
> upon us. This does not mean that books will not be written and enjoyed.
> Increasingly, the internet will be the focus for research, communication,
> publication and the development of new approaches to the concept of
> *literature*.
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "rajesh sharma" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2005 7:09 AM
> Subject: Re: [WDL] WRITING-AND-THE-DIGITAL-LIFE Digest - 30 Jun 2005 to 1
> Jul 2005 (#2005-71)
>
>
> Dear List Members,
>
> Digital literature being literature, how can we
> (1) distinguish it from the pre-digital?
> (2) understand the way it modifies the literary imaginary as it
> existed before the digital? (Specifically, does it mean a radical
> reconceptualization of literature?)
>
> Can anyone help me understand the issues not really techinically but
> philosophically/phenomenologically?
>
> Thanks.
>
> Rajesh
>
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