Poetry 4 U: Pinning poems under/over/through the streets

Abstract

This article explores how a new generation of smartphones, social software, GPS and other location-based technologies offer the ability to create new cultural spaces and publication models. These technologies allow us to digitally superimpose information on the physical world which, in turn, allows for the re-imagining of places and even identity. In this article a locative and social media art project is presented that engages with Melbourne’s status as the second UNESCO City of Literature. The project brings poetry into the street while, at the same time, occupying the floating worlds of social media. By pinning community-generated poetry to site-specific spaces on Google Maps, the article argues that a layer of narrative can be added to the readers’ perceptions of their immediate surroundings when viewing the site-specific poems through their mobile phones. Finally, the article considers the implications of Web 2.0, smartphones and location-based technologies for creative writing and arts practices.

Keywords

Communication community creative practice geography locative media place poetry social media urban

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