Category: Digital Poetry

Taroko Gorge

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“Taroko Gorge” by Nick Monfort is an example of a poem generated by a computer, or combinatory poetics, as outlined in the Electronic Literature Organization’s list of existing electronic literature practices as part of their definition of E-lit. It fulfills John Cayley’s short definition of E-lit as it is “writing in networked and programmable media” and is primarily an example of writing in a programmable media. It also a good example of Stephanie Strickland’s definition of E-lit, which she says

“relies on code for its creation, preservation, and display: there is no way to experience a work of e-literature unless a computer is running it –reading it and perhaps also generating it,”

“Taroko Gorge” could not be read and would not exist without a computer generating it.
“Taroko Gorge” was originally created in Python and then recreated in Javascript so it could be viewed in a browser. The poem is created by first announcing in the program a series of lists of words, which are then returned randomly in an order determined by the type of list they are in and displayed in phrases that create a poem. “Taroko Gorge” is what N. Katherine Hayles would call “born digital” and each iteration of the poem is unique. Every instance of the webpage will return a different poem than the last. The piece is not only “not easily produced or consumed in print literary contexts” as Scott Rettberg describes in the reading, but it is impossible to produce or consume as print. One iteration of the poem could be printed and distributed as print, but the intention of the piece would be lost.
The piece is a straight forward example of combinatory poetics. Scott Rettberg describes combinatory poetics as programs that “access and present data… and then through algorithmic processes, modify or substitute the data.” “Taroko Gorge” uses Javascript create lists of data, words in the poem, and select and present them randomly to form a poem. This is a similar process to the recipe for a Dadaist poem Tristan Tzara describes, cutting words out of a newspaper and gluing them down randomly as you draw them from a mixed bag. Combinatory poetics uses computer programming languages to create Dadaist poems instantly.

Combinatory Poetics and Taroko Gorge

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While examining a few different versions of the Taroko Gorge works, I noticed that many shared the same source code or framework. Nick Monfort’s original Python program was used for each of the works that I examined. Some versions, such as Camel Tail by Sonny Rae, modified the code enough that it looks like a completely different program. Sonny used blocks of text as opposed to individual words, as they were inspired by and using lyrics written by the band Metallica as opposed to individual words. The disclaimer that usually precedes the code about the original author is missing, and the names of the variables have been changed. The end result is similar enough as to be included in the list of versions of Taroko Gorge, and it looks similar when it runs, but it is different enough as to make one look closer at the code to find the common threads.

The meaning of each of the works would, I assume, vary from author to author. Each author uses similar framework but different content to generate combinatory poetry that speaks to them. Rettberg described Taroko Gorge as “ambient” (47) then went on to hack the source code, replacing Monfort’s verbs and adjectives with his own. He chose language he described as “frenetic” (48) which changed the entire feel of the work from one evoking peaceful Taiwanese scenery to an urban metropolis bristling with energy. To this end, the effect of combinatory processes on the reader are many-fold and widely variable. The uncertainty of what’s coming next can be exciting or unsettling depending on the reader. What is exciting, though, is how people and computers are working together and using one another (intentionally or not) to create these new, electronic forms of poetry that are contrived and organic at the same time.

“Taroko Gorge” Blog #1

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In looking at our assignment and Taroko Gorge’s poem I am struck with the similarity between it and the bots on Instagram and twitter. While it is different in one make an infinity scrolling poem the twitter bots post something new every day, but at its core they are both randomizing words within the confines/ parameters of the code and making poems that will never be the same. In Electronic Literature by Scott Rettberg he writes about how using technology changes how we create and what we create. In todays society we are ever more the consumer so is that due to technology or our own doing? While the effects impact humanity I as a user of technology must wonder if by looking at what these programs make, we will learn anything or if we will have a good laugh. Maybe in the future algorithms will be able to create novels and poetry but for now we can impute the variables and it will show us a little bit more about ourselves. Another example written about in Electronic Literature is when Scott is writing about Alan Turing, Christopher Strachey and the Mark I. The M.U.C love letters produced by the Mark I are rudimentary at best but that was because of the technology available at the time. Looking at the code used in the Mark I and the code used for Taroko Gorge’s poem they will be vastly different just because of the technology used but have the same result. Taroko is an infinity scrolling poem and the Mark I had that capability in its time. The abilities of Taroko Gorge’s poem are far better than the Mark I and while reading it I wonder if in time we will get to a point like Alan Turing was, where a machine can emulate and use a language so well that we cannot tell the difference.       

 

Source

Electronic Literature by Scott Rettberg

Taroko Gorge: https://nickm.com/taroko_gorge/

 

 

 

Taroko Gorge and Combinatory Poetics

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For the assignment this week, we were tasked with reading multiple variations of the poem “Taroko Gorge”. First, I took a look at some of the poems, and I noticed that they all had a very similar structure going on with them. After looking into the source code, I determined that it looked like each variation was different because of different key words that were replaced by each author of the poem. I noticed pretty early on into the reading this week of “Electronic Literature” by Scott Rettberg, that kinetic poetry was mentioned as a genre of Electronic Literature. After looking a little more into kinetic poetry, I discovered that it was essentially a form of combinatory poetics. It takes random words out of a piece of text, and they will all be floating around each other. Eventually the words will be drawn towards each other, forming different phrases.

Although the poem has seemingly infinite different versions that could be created through just changing the key words, the part thats most interesting to me is that no matter what words you change in it, the basic structure of the poem will always stay the same. Such as the first sentence of the poem will always be “*Key Word* *Key word*s the *Key Word*”. I also noticed while looking at the poems, that it doesn’t let you scroll back up to view a certain part of the poem, like it’s forcing you to live in the moment of the poem and focus on what’s appearing in front of you while it infinitely continues on. Since the poem is also randomized, once something disappears it’s very unlikely you’ll see it again even through replaying the same poem.

“Taroko Gorge” is very similar to a dadaist poem, which are created from other types of literature, but when cut into pieces and mixed up, they create something different than originally intended. The difference is, you can reread a dadaist poem as much as you like and take as much time as you like with it, which isn’t true with “Taroko Gorge” poems. Hit refresh and even with the same words, everything will be completely different again. As a reader this makes every line feel even more important, since you’ll never be able to read it again. On page 23 of Electronic Literature, Rettburg shares a quote from Manovich that perfectly sums up Taroko Gorge and Combinatory Poetics,

“a new media object is not something fixed once and for all, but something that can exist in different, potentially infinite versions”(23, Electronic Literature)

Sources:

Electronic Literature by Scott Rettberg

Taroko Gorge: https://nickm.com/taroko_gorge/