In this episode, we delve into the important and relevant intersection of poetry and programming with a focused discussion on Lilian-Yvonne Bertram’s groundbreaking collection, Travesty Generator. Bertram uses code not only as a tool for poetic generation but as a means of cultural critique—disrupting the perceived neutrality of computation and revealing the inherent racism embedded within code.

We explore how Travesty Generator interrogates the invisibility of Blackness in digital literary spaces, asking: Who is imagined as the reader of code? Who is seen as its author? We unpack how Bertram’s work participates in and expands the field of digital poetics, positioning poetry as a site for resistance and reinvention.

Jon and Artrice read and discuss two poems from the  ...