In the context of this special issue and a number of other recent publications and initiatives, the introduction poses three main questions. First, what is the relevance and validity of computational approaches to literature and literary studies? Second, symmetrically, what is the relevance of literature to digital methods generally and to computer science and digital humanities in particular? And, third, to what extent does the literary impact the digital as all-engulfing medium and cultural phenomenon, or, otherwise put, in what sense could one say that the literary is the (post)digital? While not claiming to answer these questions, the introduction briefly revisits and/or speculates on some of the most significant related considerations and contributions, among which, the articles in this issue are specifically placed in the same wider perspective.