In 1965, American information theorist Ted Nelson coined the term "hypertext" to describe a system of non-sequentially linked documents that readers could navigate freely, anticipating the structure of the World Wide Web by decades. His vision of the Xanadu project imagined a universal literary repository where all texts would be interconnected. Nelson's concept directly influenced Berners-Lee and transformed how writers and scholars thought about the relationship between documents, memory, and meaning.

The formalization of the hypertext concept in 1965 inspired electronic poetry and interactive forms, with poets exploring the possibilities of non-linear narratives. This innovation opened new avenues for poetic expression in the digital age, allowing for a more dynamic engagement with readers and the text itself.