Divergent Streams

I like the name of this chapter, "Divergent Streams," by Scott Rettberg, as it implies that electronic literature runs through these streams that lead to different artistic and networked paths, and how there are different stages, like when you view/read something alone, versus networked on a computer, or in a museum or gallery exhibition. Rettberg reflects on the five core genres, such as, combinatory poetics, hypertext fiction, interactive fiction, gamelike forms, kinetic and interactive poetry, and networked writing. He discusses how these five categories are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to electronic literature. I particularly like that this is the concept that Rettberg decided to end his book on. I believe it perfectly ties together everything that we've learned this semester with a neat bow. Being able to maintain these divergent works of electronic literature, like archiving, is difficult because of how fast they seem to disappear.

Text Rain by Romy Achituv and Camille Utterback is an installation that I believe bridges a lot of the core genres together, such as interactive poetry, other gamelike forms, hypertext, and networked writing, as it is a collaborative piece, such as at an art gallery. This piece, to me, feels like a clear and concise ending point for what Rettberg has taught us.