Introductory Statement

Theme

For millennia literature and politics have been inextricably linked, both by those recognizing the emancipatory potential of the word, and by those attempting to leverage it for control. As computational, networked services play an increasingly critical role in contemporary life, algorithmic practices represent a new confluence for writing and politics, one in which symbolic, aesthetic, and political elements are inextricably entwined. What does it mean for new writing to take a form that is at once symbolic and executable? What will the next generation of writers (whether human, machinic, or hybrid) be able to tell us as linguistic practices continues to (r)evolve?

• Dr. Daniel Howe, School of Creative Media, City University of Hong Kong. Track Chair