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about the directory contact the administrator create/edit entries BROWSE works by category works alphabetically authors publishers
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Introduction
The Electronic Literature Directory is a unique and valuable resource for
readers and writers of digital texts. It provides an extensive database of
listings for electronic works, their authors, and their publishers. The descriptive
entries cover poetry, fiction, drama, and nonfiction that make significant
use of electronic techniques or enhancements.
The ELD provides easy access to one of the most exciting and fastest-growing
bodies of cutting-edge literature. Among the new forms of writing represented
here are hypertexts and other interactive pieces, animated poems,
multimedia works, generated texts, and works that allow reader collaboration.
ELD users can also enjoy the enhancements that the new technology brings
to traditional literature, such as streaming audio readings of poetry by masters
ranging from e.e. cummings and Dylan Thomas to contemporary Pulitzer Prize
winners.
Authors and publishers listed in the ELD are encouraged to edit their own
listings to ensure accuracy and completeness (see details
below).
For more information about the genesis and goals of the ELD, see Stalking
the Wild Hypertext: The Electronic Literature Directory. For an in-depth
discussion of the ELD's development and its role in the field of electronic literature,
see Charting
the
Frontier: The Electronic Literature Directory.
How to Use the Directory
Use the search box on the main ELD page to find specific authors, publishers,
or works. Simply type in all or part of the name you are looking for. You can
also search for words or phrases within author
bios or the descriptions of works.
Click on the category links to browse entries in a particular category.
The first column of choices (Genre/Length) lets you view all the entries
in a single genre or only entries of a specified length within the genre,
such
as Long Fiction or Short Poetry. The second column (Technique/Genre) lets
you view all works that make use of a specific electronic technique or
element. Or you can select only specific genres that make use of a technique,
such
as Hypertext Fiction. (Below is an explanation of what you will find under
each category of electronic technique.)
Individual works may be included in more than one category. For example,
if a poem uses both hypertext and animated text, it will be displayed when
you select either Hypertext or Animated Text.
To view all works alphabetically or to view listings of authors and
publishers, select from the menu at the left side of the screen. Use
the navigation links (numbers or letters) near the top of the screen
to page through the listings for a single category. You can click on
the
icon beside any individual listing to see additional details about that
particular entry. For authors and publishers, this
detail view also provides a list of all their published works.
Clicking on the name of a work, author, or publisher will take you to
the URL of the work, the author's home page, or the publisher's site.
We are continually adding new features to the ELD as resources allow.
Categories for Work
Works in the ELD are categorized by their use of electronic
techniques. Here is a description of the categories:
- Hypertext:
Ted Nelson, who coined the term, defines "hypertext" as "non-sequential
writing -- text that branches and allows choices to the reader." It
is usually implemented as chunks of text connected by links, though other
forms of nonlinear writing have also come to be recognized as hypertext.
For our purposes, we do not consider a linear series of pages linked
together to be hypertext. Nor do we consider links added to a conventional
table of contents to constitute hypertext.
- Reader Collaboration:
Work that allows readers to add their own writing to the text, which then becomes
a permanent part of the work. A reader's additions are stored on the work's
Web site or, in the case of disk-based work, on the reader's hard disk.
- Other Interaction:
Work that requires the reader
to perform some sort of action to display or activate nonhypertextual
elements. This can involve clicking on screen elements,
typing in text,
pressing keys, or simply moving the mouse. We do not consider clicking
a link that loads the next page in a linear sequence to be interaction,
unless
the reader must actively search for such a link. If a work of generated
text offers only a single option for creating new versions of the
text (such as
clicking the "Refresh" button), it is not categorized as using
interaction. The boundary
between hypertext and other interaction can be hard to demarcate precisely.
If it's arguable which of these techniques a work uses, its listing may
indicate that both are used.
- Recorded Reading/Performance:
Digitized audio or video of a text being read or performed aloud, usually
by its author. This category contains mostly poetry.
- Animated Text:
Work using animated text (also known as kinetic text) in which words move
or morph onscreen. This category contains mostly poetry.
- Other Multimedia:
Work using audio, video, or animation in ways not covered by one of the categories
above. Individual listings distinguish between audio and video/animation,
though these are combined as a single browsing category for user convenience.
- Prominent Graphics:
Work in which graphics and visual elements play a significant role, such
as visual poetry.
- Generated Text:
Texts created in real time by software that uses rules and random processes
for combining words. Each time the work is viewed, a different text is
generated. This category excludes work that does not contain text-generating
code but consists merely of nonvariable text produced by a separate text-generating
program.
Editorial Policy and Procedures
The contents of the ELD are continually updated
by ELO staff members. Our aim is to be as comprehensive as possible
in our coverage, and we do not exclude work based on subjective evaluations
of quality. With this goal in mind, we have created user
accounts
that
allow
all
authors and
publishers listed in
the
ELD to edit their existing listings and add new ones for themselves,
subject to staff monitoring. If your work isn't in the ELD but
should be, please request an ELD account
that will let you add your own entries. The collaboration of authors,
publishers, and ELO staff in maintaining content will ensure that the
Directory is as comprehensive, accurate, and up to date as possible.
ELD users who notice omissions in our listings are encouraged to contact
us. We welcome
any information that we can add.
All work listed in the ELD must meet our objective inclusion
criteria. We will review all additions made to the Directory and
remove any that are inappropriate. We may also edit entries for accuracy
and clarity.
Our privacy policy discusses privacy issues concerning the information we
collect and how it is used.
Maintaining Your Own Entries
If you are an author or publisher listed in the ELD, simply go to our password
recovery page to have your username and password immediately
e-mailed to you. If
you aren't listed in the ELD but should be, please request
an ELD account.
Our staff does all it can to keep the ELD up to date, complete,
and accurate, but there is some information that can be provided only
by authors or publishers. Maintaining your biographical information
and
work listings in the Directory will ensure that you and your work are
presented in the best possible light. Maintaining your entries will
also increase your readership and visibility. The ELD is unequalled
as a reference source for electronic literature
and has become a significant portal for readers. It serves as a valuable
tool for event organizers looking for readers and lecturers. It helps
teachers find works to assign for class study and aids scholars and journalists
who write about the field.
Directory Staff:
Robert Kendall,
Database Director
Nick Traenkner,
Directory Programmer
Evelyn Wang
Editorial Assistant
Contributing Editors:
Fran Ilich
Nick Montfort
José Luis Orihuela
Rob Swigart
Susana Tosca
Updated: June 2003
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