What is Literature?

Traditionally, literature tends to be a printed text, usually a book or poem that has remained relevant and important over a period of time. This description makes it hard to describe any modern text as literature, because nobody can predict how time will affect the popularity, or even the credibility of a text. Who’s to say whether or not anyone will be reading Harry Potter 50 years from now? However trying to designate whether or not “These Waves of Girls” is, will be, or even can be considered literature is slightly harder to determine. On the one hand a critic might say that the text is new and innovative, which could already qualify the work for the label literature. On the other hand, one might say that the text is simply a silly internet project that will be forgotten before long. One helpful way to try to categorize the text could be to look at the labels put in place by others. The author herself calls the story a “Hypermedia Novella”. Considering that novella’s themselves were once new and innovative, and have since become respected works of literature, why not this hypermedia novella. “These Waves of Girls” also won the 2001 Electronic Literature Award, which puts it in a subcategory of literature. But the question remains, will “These Waves of Girls” endure the test of time? There is no way to know for sure, but by analyzing the text and the way the reader interacts with it, an educated prediction can be made.