Feed the Algorithm (AKA poet Kelly Mullins)! In this two hour poetry workshop, anyone and everyone is invited to work together in a collaborative creation process as we generate ‘source material’ for Kelly’s source.txt installation.

Through a series of group, partnered, and individual writing exercises, you’ll be introduced to the source.txt project and learn how to write a poem on your own and with new friends. This workshop is good for lovers (and haters) of the algorithm, critically acclaimed poets, adults, children, and even people with no prior writing experience!

About source.txt

Everything we put on the internet today is now source material for writing and art that OpenAI’s like ChatGPT and DALL-E 2 will create (and profit off of). So, what happens when we do the opposite of what these algorithms do, and consent to sharing our most private, digital moments in a public space? What if these digital snippets become the “source material” for an algorithm that does not exist on the internet, but in the intimacy of one room?

source.txt is an interactive poetry installation where poet, Kelly Mullins, uses material generated in the room to write and exhibit work in real time. The public is also invited to participate in the generation of poems using the source text. Poems created in the room will be shared regularly with the public via an email newsletter that participants can sign up for when they visit the installation.

The source.txt station will be set up on the festival grounds all day Sunday 26 May for guests to visit on a casual basis, but for those who are interested in the inner workings of the project and the craft of poetry, this workshop will give a deeper insight into the inspiration behind the installation, how it works, and how to continue generating ‘output’ long after you’ve left the festival.

Participants are invited to attend the source.txt closing performance to see The Algorithm in action. Kelly will perform some of the poetry that has been generated through the workshop and through the source.txt station as well as invite guests to jump on the mic and perform their own output. Who knows, maybe an algorithmic poetry battle may even ensue!

Kelly Mullins is a queer, American poet (and recovering girlboss) who lives in Amsterdam. They run the weekly poetry newsletter, Poetry Trapper Keeper, with their BFF, Larissa Fantini.