In his text “Electronic Literature,” Scott Rettberg describes the challenge of rethinking literature in a digital world. He sees electronic literature not as a digital replica of printed texts, but as a completely new literary practice that exploits the full potential of computers. The quote “Electronic literature is the result or product of literary activity created or performed using the computer” stuck in my mind. 

The concept of “literature” is undergoing a fundamental shift. It is no longer bound to pages, printer’s ink, or linear storytelling, but arises from the interplay of text, code, sound, image, and interaction. Where writing used to be the medium of meaning, today animations, algorithms, and digital interfaces also generate meaning. 

Rettberg also shows that electronic literature lies somewhere between art, technology, and experimentation. This opens up many possibilities, as electronic literature can be a visual installation, an interactive poem, or a game. This openness and broad scope make it difficult to define. “The term is somewhat fraught and often challenged as not sufficiently or accurately descriptive,” writes Rettberg. I find Rettberg’s observation that electronic literature simultaneously ties in with the history of literature and dissolves it particularly interesting. The computer does not replace the book, it expands it. Literature becomes a process, not a finished product. This blending of poetry and programming also challenges the role of the reader. Reading no longer means following a text, but controlling it. A click, a selection, an interaction changes the course of the story. We also saw this in the second week with hypertext. The reader becomes part of the system. 

Thus, literature does not end in the digital realm; it loses its boundaries. It becomes fluid, interactive, unpredictable. And that is precisely where its future lies: not in clinging to old forms, but in the courage to reinvent them again and again.