How does each specific application of new technology reflect outward, to the broader dynamics of an electronically networked society? Are we talking about form or experience? Digital art draws upon both visual art and literature to establish a new medium that is simultaneously posited as a breakdown of those very boundaries. What results is often both work and event, realized by the audience in the process of reception. The essays in this timely book explore these ambiguities from multiple perspectives, asserting digital art as a significant paradigm shift, even rupture, yet structurally rooted in earlier traditions.   Martha Buskirk, Professor of Art History and Criticism, Montserrat College of Art

Literary Art in Digital Performance charts an expansive range of human/machine topologies, both local and distributed, while negotiating a highly relevant set of informed perspectives and critical positionings. The ever-expanding contextual potentials of this exciting field are clearly reflected here, pointing to a rich landscape of performative literary domains. This book is a must for those interested in new media/literary critical theory as it relates to a set of unique examples of contemporary media practice.   William Seaman, Professor Visual Studies of Duke Univ. and Founding Chairman of Dept. of Digital Media, RISD

New technologies like videogames, interactive installation, digital literature and data visualization are used by artists and writers before critical theory can catch up with them. Now this important collection of essays on how we "read" the new media of the day elucidates the underlying meanings of these media through the lens of contemporary criticism. Each of these insightful essays on a specific work of art is made all the more useful by the discerning post essay conversations Ricardo has with the authors. George Fifield, Founder of the Boston Cyberarts Festival