💿 ⌨️ ⛓️💥 🫧 🕸️ 🐾
computational poetry reading group
April 29, 2026 at tiat / Facilitator: Helen Shewolfe Tseng /
https://coyote.computer/cprg
Welcome!
computational poetry reading group @ tiat is a new and recurring series of gatherings at the intersection of
language and
technology. This will be a space for reading and discussing our way through the world of computational poetry and electronic literature through visual, historical, critical, and other contextual lenses; hands-on remixing of classic computational poetry pieces; writing and critique sessions; occasional guest speakers; reading and discussing adjacent texts; and more. We aim to foster an experimental, collaborative, generative environment that we shape together, prioritizing learning from each other, familiarizing ourselves with and paying homage to computational poetic landscapes past and present, honing our critical eyes, and expanding our creative practices.
Open Projector: April 29
- Jay Zuerndorfer: ori.dog, a grief log for the loss of a pet
- Dennis Hansen: wordwell, a visualizer for semantic gradients
- Tim Johnson: survey poems written with FullWrite Professional mail merge
- Lee Butterman: sidechat, a chatbot that responds in acrostics
- Ryan Patterson: here, hear, an animated ascii poem
- Halim Madi: becoming crossings, performed as computer theater
Thank you to all speakers for sharing their wonderful projects!
A silly, yet eerily prescient short story
The First Sally (A), or Trurl's Electronic Bard by Stanisław Lem (from
The Cyberiad,
first published in 1965!)
Ran out of time to discuss, join us on
tiat's Discord to share thoughts in the
#computational-poetry channel
Suggested reading for next gathering
Ensemble Park is a journal of human + computer writing, which the editors,
Kyle Booten and
Katy Ilonka Gero, describe as:
Neither completely computer-generated nor absent of computational intervention, the works explore how machines may enter a writing process iteratively, and how textual artifacts may be produced through such iterations. Each piece is accompanied by a Process Note so that readers may learn from, borrow, and adapt tactics.
Before next time:
- Read through Ensemble Park #2's works and process notes.
- Choose one piece and process that captured your attention, and consider the questions below:
- What was interesting about this piece and process to you?
- Did it reveal anything to you about the nature of human and/or computer writing?
- How did it make you feel, on a poetic or expressive level?
- What would you change or do differently? What does that say about your poetic inclinations, or how you feel about human-computer co-writing?
- Is this a process that you could replicate partially or fully, or apply in some way to another form of writing you do? How might you incorporate it? Experiment with with a piece of your own using elements from the process you chose.
- Consider sharing your thoughts and findings during our next gathering!
New publications, open calls, and other notable links
Archives and links
Join
tiat's Discord for access to our
#computational-poetry channel