Key Takeaways

• Digital poetry is created using computer algorithms or other digital tools, that can be only consumed digitally and not be printed on paper.
• While the first instances of digital poetry date back to the 1960s, digital poetry did not gain momentum until the 1990s.
• Major genres of digital poetry are Generative Poetry, Code Poetry, Visual Poetry, Kinetic Poetry, Multimedia Poetry, Interactive Poetry, and Hypertext Poetry.

Introduction

Overview

• Digital Poetry is any poem created using digital media and tools, solely for digital consumption.
• This mode of poetry was developed during the 1960s but did not gain traction until the 1990s.
• Many digital poems involve using some form of algorithm to generate poems.
• Theo Lutz created the first program for poem generation in 1959, called Stochastische Texte.
• In 1960, Brion Gysin and Ian Sommerville created a permutation poem called I am that I am.
• In 1961, Nanni Balestrini created his digital poem Tape Mark I.
•  Billy Collins, a poet from the United States contributed vastly to digital poetry.
• Other notable digital poets include:
•  James Nelson 
•  Mike Timonin 
•  Daniel Holden 
•  Chris Kerr 
•  Nick Montfort 

Genres

• Following are the major genres of digital poetry:
• Generative Poetry
• Code Poetry
• Visual Poetry
• Kinetic Poetry
• Multimedia Poetry
• Interactive Poetry
• Hypertext Poetry
• Generative Poetry
•  Generative poetry is created by using algorithms that use a collection of written text as a base.
• The resulting poems are based on the collection of text provided to the algorithm.
• One of the notable examples of generative poetry is A House of Dust by Alison Knowles and James Tenney.
• The generative algorithm for A House of Dust continues to run indefinitely.
• Code Poetry
•  Code poetry uses programming languages to code a poem.
• These poems can be recited by a human or a computer.
•  Every programming language is capable of being coded into poems.
•  code {poems} is a collection of 55 such poems written using codes.
• The code {poems} is a project of Ishac Bertran, with David Gauthier, Jamie Allen, Joshua Noble, and Marcin Ignac as its editors.
• Visual Poetry
•  Visual poetry takes advantage of visual media to bring a new dimension to the poetry.
• By using the various nuances and possibilities offered by visual media, visual poetry enhances the understanding of the poem by the reader.
• One such visual poem is Puddle, by Neil Hennessey.
• The words in the poem fall, visually creating an understanding of a puddle through their rhyming.

 

Source

 

• Kinetic Poetry
•  Kinetic poetry utilizes moving imagery and changing visuals to make its point.
• The information changes over time and is dynamic.
• A famous example of kinetic poetry is Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic and Jarret Heather.
• The poem uses "kinetic typography and evocative visual images" to make the viewers aware of the ever-present relevance of grammar in the current age.
• Multimedia Poetry
•  Multimedia poetry uses various multimedia sources and their combinations to create poems.
• The poet can record themselves reciting the poem or incorporate other forms of media in their digital poems.
•  Simple recitals of a poem recorded and then consumed as audio are also considered to be multimedia poems.
• Interactive Poetry
• An interactive poem will take into account its readers' inputs for the progression of the poem.
• The progression of the poem differs from reader to reader and is affected solely by the reader's input and internal programming.
• One such example of interactive poetry is Tarot Poems by Mike Timonin and Cindy Duhe.
• The main website shows a flow of random cards which are flying at a fast speed.
• Each card corresponds to a different poem.
• The readers click on a card, read the poem, and then return to draw another card.
• Hypertext Poetry
•  Hypertext poetry is a type of interactive poetry that incorporates multimedia as well.
• The poems contain images, sounds, videos, that are revealed after clicking on each word of the poem.
•  Hypertext by Richard Holeton is a notable example of hypertext poetry.

Research Strategy