See also: nothing?
E-Literature ~scares~ me to be completely honest. It is a genre which depths, despite our readings, continue to elude me: there's just too much [1] material out there in the vast universe of technology that could be considered E-Lit. In class, we discussed how Hayles' article, through no fault of her own but rather due to the ever-changing state of technology, is outdated. With social media and endless other electronic mediums, there is seemingly an infinite number of ways to create e-lit and even more outputs of actual literature (especially with the invention of bots and AI). While I enjoy the concept of anything becoming literature, as I like the idea of anything becoming art, it fills my head with a sort of overload of possibilities anxiety. That's why the Library of Babel terrifies me. For whatever reason, the idea of a "limitless" number of books scares me- not the vastness itself but the idea that I have to pick certain ones to read and I may pick the wrong ones. Reminds me of that scene from the Bell Jar-- I'll let Aziz Ansari reenact it for you: [2]
On the bright side, something about e-lit excites me greatly: the idea of a videogame used as a literature medium. As a former young video game fiend (Freddie Fish, Nancy Drew, The Sims) I am obsessed with how storytelling and games intersect. Can't wait to explore that more.
