Sanza cultura, e d'abitanti nuda: e-literature in the global arena

The aim of the paper is to suggest an overview of the global foundation of electronic literature in the global arena of the Internet. Its ideal reader is a subjectivity who perceives himself/herself as belonging to a linguistic, local culture as well as to a trans-national, cross-cultural net of relationships (Internet). Digital narration shapes and makes the new globalized cultural reality emerge as a new social connective tissue reliant on transmission protocols and a globally shared technology. Indeed, it comprises two different linguistic codes: the verbal language, especially English used by authors as a common linguistic base of communication with a multilingual readership, and the machine code, that works as an interface between hardware and text, which we can extend to include operating systems, applications and a variety of software widely shared all over the world to allow global communication. The hybrid nature of authorship, the question of a national literary identity, the publishing market and the limits of translation are all themes taken into consideration.