Poetryfeeder
Digital poetry project collaboration (2010)
In 2010 Cheryl Gallaway, David Duinmeijer and I created the Poetryfeeder. The Dutch Literary Fund and the Mondriaan Fund commissioned it as part of the digital poetry project. We presented it to the public and media during the International Poetry Festival in Rotterdam (I am still impressed that we did so in denim shorts).
The concept was simple. What happens if we leave meaning up to chance? If we discard the idea of a linear reality? If we abandon the single author and mesh it all up? I don’t even remember exactly where the idea came from. I only know it popped into my head during the London Design Festival and didn’t leave me alone.
I talked about it with Cheryl, who I met when working as a photography producer in Amsterdam. A few months later she saw the Digital Poetry open call. It was our chance. Officially I didn’t qualify as an author, as the primary condition was having published at least two books. I had never published poetry full stop.
Encouraged by Cheryl we submitted our proposal anyway and soon were selected. Cheryl and David had the brilliant idea to use a Twitter feed to upload poetry lines on a website. It assured the accessibility we wanted to pull poetry out of this glass bubble. Here we could select the chronological feed or read entries by author. We chose the sonnet 14-line structure as a cut-off point.
The feedback we received was wonderful, but the best compliment was the request that came months later. The Kunstbalie asked our permission to use our Poetryfeeder for an educational program and exhibition for kids.