Going in blind and having no prior knowledge as to what “Electronic Literature" is was very intimidating. After reading the first textbook chapter and the article by Katherine Hayles, I would say I have a very surface level understanding of what E-lit truly is. It is explained in the textbook how the words “electronic” and “literature” are both very broad terms, and this is for a reason. It is because E-lit really does have endless possibilities through ever-changing technology and there's not really a way to put a fixed cap on all that E-lit is and what it may become. Even putting a set genre on an E-lit project is an iffy thing to do because the whole point is to be interactive, experimental, and limitless. I enjoyed the explanation of how Electronic Literature is essentially an art form. Deriving from writing and creating experimentally the way artists do. Something captivating was that projects of Electronic Literature could simply just be erased or forgotten, and how they cannot be consumed by the viewer in a physical form. Traditional books are very hard to go “extinct” when there are usually copies all over the world and in a physical form on a shelf. So it is crazy to think that someone's project could completely vanish in an instant or become forgotten in the endless void of the internet. 

    The source I found and chose to dive deeper into was “Deeper into the Machine: The Future of Electronic Literature” by Katherine Hayles. In the textbook chapter I read something explaining that in order to be able to even interpret and read a piece of Electronic Literature, one must fully understand how to use the technologies and how the author intends the tech to be used or how the project should be read. The article by Katherine Hayles explains a little more into this specific concept of understanding the technologies and genres itself before the E-lit project is read. (https://culturemachine.net/the-e-issue/deeper-into-the-machine/)

    Furthermore, the article ‘Electronic Literature: What Is It?” by Katherine Hayles contains lots of good information as well when it comes to understanding E-lit. She uses the term “digital born” to describe any E-lit project. She explains how this means a work is created on a computer and is meant to be read on a computer. It is emphasized that e-lit cannot be printed, otherwise you lose the "performance" of the coding, links, interactiveness, etc. It is very interesting how young e-lit is a genre, only starting in the 1990’s. “Hypertext fiction was the most popular at the start of e-lit until more platforms and genres were being used and created.