a definition · ongoing
Computational Poetry
Poems written with, against, and through machines.
The definition
Computational poetry is poetry made with computation. Code, procedures, constraints, or trained models take part in the writing: they generate, transform, or answer the poet. The tradition runs from the Oulipo’s constraints and the first computer-generated verse of the 1950s and 60s to today’s language models.
Halim Madi works as a computational poet. He fine-tunes language models on his own poems and writes against them live, builds browser pieces where the reader’s body changes the text, and trains models with communities to keep their languages spoken.
Machine poetry is the live version of this: a poet and a model given the same prompt in front of an audience that votes. That series is called Singulars. The votes decide the winner, and the winning poems retrain the model.
Where it happens
Singulars: the live duels, performed at galleries, museums, and conferences, including a Mozilla AI residency and a Google DeepMind dinner.
Borderline: a browser poem about borders and the forms migrants are handed. Robert Coover Award for a Work of Electronic Literature, 2024.
Fine-tuning for poets: the workshop. Two days, hands on keyboards, each participant leaves with a model trained on their own writing. Run at Google, Johns Hopkins, and the University of Maryland.
The books: four printed collections, the material the models are trained on.
oulipo.xyz ↗: the kitchen lab, where the small browser poems get made first.
Computer theater: the stage version, where the models become characters.
Three questions people search for
What is a computational poet?
A poet who uses computation as part of writing: code, procedures, constraints, or trained models. Halim Madi trains language models on his own poems and performs with them.
Is computational poetry the same as AI poetry?
AI poetry usually means text a model generates. Computational poetry is wider. It includes constraint-based writing, procedural poems, and work where the poet and the machine answer each other. Most of Halim’s pieces put the human and the model on the same stage.
Can I book a computational poetry performance or workshop?
Yes. Singulars tours as a live performance, and the fine-tuning-for-poets workshop runs for conferences, universities, and companies. Use the connect page.
Bring it to your room
A performance, a keynote, or a two-day workshop. Say what the room is and when, and Halim writes back within a few days.