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Code = Poetry = Code?

Tony Hillier, poetWhile the big wide world classes Bristol Wireless as supertechies or ubergeeks, we do have artistic sensibilities: indeed, the co-op has several artist(e)s – musicians, DJs, wordsmiths, practitioners in the plastic arts, etc. – in its ranks and I reckon that collectively we have more appreciation of creative works than your average Radio 4 studio full of art critics.

It is often said that code is poetry: proof of this is the fact that software is treated as a work of literature, but is poetry also code?

You can now judge, since one of the pleasant experiences we brought back from the Ragged Hedge Fair (news passim) was community poet Tony Hillier’s visit to the cybertent. This resulted in Tony sending us a poem which we’re pleased to reproduce below:

Conversion process

Looking for
Twelve volt flat screens
So we don’t lose anything
In the conversion process

This warm co-operative hot spot
There for you and your world
This teenage crèche

These cheap café chairs
Bring you rich text format
And plain vanilla computing
Four chairs made from one coke can
They’re that comfortable in this
Solar powered penguin paradise

Flaming foxes and frozen weasels
No nose can sense the smell of diesel
From gnu to re-new in penguin suits
This apple-free cider space
Well dressed, well addressed, innit
www.bristolwireless.net

Thanks very much Tony! We’re now wondering if any other IT co-op has had poetry written about it…

4 Responses to Code = Poetry = Code?

  1. Jon Eccles September 21, 2007 at 12:29 pm #

    Bristol IT Co-op – a song of praise

    Bitcoop the workers’ group
    Sean and Bails and Jon
    Through wind and hail delivered email
    And kept the networks on

    Hartcliffe Ventures, community centres
    I could go on but I shan’t
    Yes they can look flash on their government cash
    But we were screwed by a Grant

  2. Christian Wach September 21, 2007 at 1:11 pm #

    The local mailing list Underscore was founded with a poem called the channel hop by Rob Mitchell.

  3. woodsy September 21, 2007 at 1:14 pm #

    Thanks for the info,Chris 🙂

  4. woodsy October 12, 2007 at 1:38 pm #

    Update 12/10/2007: Tony Hillier has now emailed me the full set of poems he wrote whilst at and about the Ragged Hedge Fair. If you’d like a copy please contact me.