Note from the editor
As I reflect on my time as editor of The New River I find myself still wrestling with the same questions I had when I signed up for the editorship four months ago. Now this lingering of questions could be due in large part to my own slowness, but I'd like to think it has more to do with the complexity of the answers these questions require.
- What exactly is electronic literature?
- Is there an inherent power dynamic (inferiority or superiority) between E-literature and print literature?
- What is the role of E-literature?
Before I offer my thoughts on these questions I should pause to confess my newbie status in the world of E-Literature. Im one of those cavemen who still composes first drafts on legal pads (admittedly an upgrade from wall carvings, but a far cry from the world of the E-Literature author). I've often joked that should I become famous I could be the first poet to be endorsed by the Pilot pen company; though I suppose we'll probably see Amy Winehouse espousing the virtues of sobriety before we see a famous poet, but I digress. I am a newbie, a novice, a virgin who has arrived at the E-literature orgy well after everyone else has disrobed. A year ago I hadn't even heard of electronic literature. Attending a presentation by Stephanie Strickland changed that. I was enthralled by the woman and her work. I decided, despite my technological limitations, to find a place for myself in the world of E-literature that Strickland now embodied in my mind.. more...
