Electronic Literature by N. Katherine Hayles
Electronic literature has been present for about 20 years and has already generated a number of works that need the same careful examination that critics have long given print literature. But it was not until now that N. Katherine Hayles’ Electronic Literature provides the first comprehensive examination of the subject and a critical evaluation of its significance, scope, and wide-ranging literary research consequences. The goal of Hayles’ book is to aid the integration of electronic literature into the classroom. Her thorough analysis of the subject discusses the main genres, the difficulties it presents for conventional literary theory, and the fascinating and complicated problems at stake. In order to comprehend how electronic literature simultaneously draws on the print tradition and necessitates new reading and interpretive techniques, she builds a theoretical framework.
Electronic Literature by N. Katherine Hayles
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Hayles bases her position on the dynamic evolution of humans and technology to make the case that neither the body nor the machine should be accorded absolute theoretical precedence. Instead, she focuses on how embodied authors, users, and the intelligent machines that execute electronic texts are connected. Hayles demonstrates that a new kind of narration is emerging that differs dramatically from earlier models through attentive readings of notable works. Her insight that virtually all modern literature has its origins in electronic files is crucial to her argument because it turns print into a specialized mode for electronic text rather than a completely different medium. Hayles uses three modern novels that have been influenced by the digital to highlight the effects of this state.
This field has been significantly shaped by Katherine Hayes, and I believe this book is a useful addition since it serves as an introduction and primer on what digital literature is and how it can be used in the discussion we’re having. There is still more to be done in terms of explaining the connections between print and digital media, as well as the connections between modern and classic works, literary genres, and reading habits. As a critic, I’m not just interested in new works for their novelty’s sake but also in what they might reveal about what was once considered to be standard, classic, and worthwhile in literature and literacy.
