Electronic literature is a rapidly growing field that combines writing and technology. As Scott Rettburg explains, the term broadly refers to works with “important literary aspects that take advantage of the capabilities and contexts provided by the stand-alone or networked computer” (Rettburg). Electronic literature is more than text stored within a computer, it is literature that could not exist without digital technology. Like all of our words, the definition has evolved and changed. Before the 1990s, “electronic literature” often meant texts in digital form, such as online articles. However, authors and scholars began using the term to describe works of art/literature designed specifically for computers, such as hypertext fiction or interactive digital poetry. Boruk taught us that material influences content, and the same applies to electronic literature. The computer and specific software platforms directly influence how we interact with various texts: “The platform in electronic literature constrains and affords practices in a material-and some might even say determinative-way” (Rettburg). 

Rettburg uses the example of “guard fields in a Storyspace hypertext or tweens in a Flash poem has a very specific aesthetic effect on the way that a reader interacts with and perceives a work” (Rettburg). Just as the tablet evolved into the scroll which eventually evolved into the book as we know it today, electronic literature will continue to evolve as technology advances. Electronic literature is yet another reminder that reading and writing is never static, but rather the form, style, and experience is constantly evolving alongside the tools we use to do so, physical or digital.