code {poems}
BOOK | 2012
Poetry is considered a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities. It contains multiple interpretations and therefore resonates differently in each reader.
Code is the language used to communicate with computers. It has its own rules (syntax) and meaning (semantics). Like literature writers or poets, coders also have their own style that include - strategies for optimizing the code being read by a computer, and facilitating its understanding through visual organization and comments for other coders.
Code can speak literature, logic, maths. It contains different layers of abstraction and it links them to the physical world of processors and memory chips. All these resources can contribute in expanding the boundaries of contemporary poetry by using code as a new language. Code to speak about life or death, love or hate. Code meant to be read, not run.
In order to explore the potential of code to communicate at the level of poetry, a call for submissions was open between the February 22nd and May 31st of 2012. The rules for submitting code poems were simple: (1) the poem having a maximum size of 0,5 KB, and (2) it required to compile.
A total of 190 poems were submitted from 30 different countries. The code editors that collaborated on the project made the selection to be printed in this book, attempting to represent the variety and creativity of the submissions, as well as different approaches to code poetry.
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Website of the project: code-poems.com