Lyric Technologies: Generating Poetry in the Age of Social Media with Rosebud Ben-Oni

Six Saturdays, February 23–March 30

We saw to the edge of all there is—
So brutal and alive it seemed to comprehend us back.

—Tracy K. Smith, “My God, It’s Full of Stars”

In an increasingly virtual world, what is the impact of technology and social media on poetry’s creation and reception? How can poetry express this world in new, complex language and become a bridge between art and human evolution? In this workshop, we will examine and discuss the effects of artificial intelligence, the media, and virtual communities on our daily lives and our work. We will write and share poems, utilizing different applications such as the Blog Post, Random Text Generator, SMS-style collaborations, and other science-minded approaches. We will reimagine the many futures possible in poetry, drawing inspiration from Lisel Mueller, Kyle Dargan, Camille Rankine, Jennifer Militello, Greg Delanty, and more.

Check out an interview with Rosebud Ben-Oni on teaching poetry and more.

Class Dates:
Saturday, February 23, 11:30am–2pm
Saturday, March 2, 11:30am–2pm
Saturday, March 9, 11:30am–2pm
Saturday, March 16, 11:30am–2pm
Saturday, March 23, 11:30am–2pm
Saturday, March 30, 11:30am–2pm

Born to a Mexican mother and Jewish father, Rosebud Ben-Oni is a recipient of the 2014 NYFA Fellowship in Poetry and a 2013 CantoMundo Fellow. Her newest collection of poems, turn around, BRXGHT XYXS, was selected as Agape Editions’ Editors’ Choice, and will be published in 2019. Her poetry also appears in Poetry, The American Poetry Review, Tin House, Guernica, The Poetry Review (UK), Black Warrior Review, TriQuarterly, Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, and other journals. She teaches creative writing at UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program and The Speakeasy Project.