Eve's Week 8

In this chapter of Electronic Literature, Scott Rettberg talks about some of the other genres that did not get their own chapter. He explains that “this set of five genres also does not exhaust the categories of practice that could have been extensively detailed in this book. Indeed, some of the most interesting current practices in digital writing have not yet been discussed” (183). Electronic literature is constantly evolving and growing, so it is difficult to categorize and document all of the practices into one book. At one point in the chapter he also mentions that electronic literature differs from traditional literature in the sense that it is very experimental, and not everything is created with the intention of being something great. People just enjoy seeing what they can create with the technology available to them, so not everything fits into a specific genre. 

Touch and immersive spaces are interesting because they generally allow the reader to participate in the piece directly. I chose to look further into Text Rain by Camille Utterback. It is an installation piece that allows the user to stand in front of it and move their body to alter the way the words fall. In the description of the piece it explains that the words and letters falling are a poem about bodies and language. Being able to interact with the text in such a way makes the reader feel more immersed in the poem. Immersion can cause the reader to form a more personal and emotional connection with the piece as well.