Generative literature
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Generative literature | |
|---|---|
| Features | Poetry and fiction generated automatically, usually using computers. |
| Related genres | |
| Electronic literature, Digital poetry, Generative art | |
Generative literature is poetry or fiction that is automatically generated, often using computers. It is a genre of electronic literature, and also related to generative art.
John Clark's Latin Verse Machine (1830–1843) is probably the first example of mechanised generative literature,[1][2] while Christopher Strachey's love letter generator (1952) is the first digital example.[3] With the large language models (LLMs) of the 2020s, generative literature is becoming increasingly common.
Hannes Bajohr defines generative literature as literature involving "the automatic production of text according to predetermined parameters, usually following a combinatory, sometimes aleatory logic, and it emphasizes the production rather than the reception of the work (unlike, say, hypertext)."[4]
In his book Electronic Literature, Scott Rettberg connects generative literature to avant-garde literary movements like Dada, Surrealism, Oulipo and Fluxus.[3] Bajohr argues that conceptual art is also an important reference.[4]
Paradigms of generative literature
Bajohr describes two main paradigms of generative literature: the sequential paradigm, where the text generation is "executed as a sequence of rule-steps" and employs linear algorithms, and the connectionist paradigm, which is based on neural nets.[4] The latter leads to what Bajohr calls a algorithmic empathy: "a non-anthropocentric empathy aimed not at the psychological states of the artists but at understanding the process of the work’s material production."[4]