An interactive poem which cannot be fully read without completing linked Wordle puzzles (via QR codes). Designed to be mimetic of some of my experiences living with ADHD, specifically the paralysing anxiety of struggling to ‘find the right words’ when sending important emails - especially short ones.

Longlisted for the Mono Poetry Prize 2022, judged by Joelle Taylor

A ‘maze poem’ with multiple endings. This went viral in 2019, gaining 16,000+ shares across the UK, USA, Australia and the Philippines. 

A puzzle poem which requires answering clues to uncover the text of the poem. 

The form has been chosen specifically to mimic the subject matter
(a childhood memory of my father doing the crossword at breakfast).

A commissioned poetry gift for an architect (who doesn’t really like poetry).

Craig Rudd loves nothing more building and designing things. He even spends his spare time building barn conversions on The Sims and playing with LEGO. After interviewing him and being tasked with creating a special poem just for him, this poem in the form of a wooden toy house was the most natural choice.

This video documents the creation and presentation of this interactive poetry gift - one designed to be played with, broken down, rebuilt or displayed as Craig chooses.

Part of Peterborough Presents' #BrettonRoyalty project, celebrating and thanking people from the local community of Bretton.

Footage from ‘(how to create) The Greatest Poem In The Universe” - an interactive ‘poetry game show’ for families hosted by me in my 'Mad Scientist of Words' persona.

This interactive show experimented with making poetry 'fun' by taking content generation techniques and  turning them into physically playable games (such as collecting words by writing them on plastic balls and throwing them onto the stage) as the audience collaborated on creating 'The Greatest Poem in The Universe'. 

This video shows the culmination of the premiere performance at Peterborough Celebrates festival in which, after the poem had been finished, 'The Computer' was due to deliver her verdict on whether we had succeeded. A technical hitch threatened to prevent this, but we weren't going to let that get in our way...

This event was the culmination of my residency with Metal Culture UK, which I spent experimenting with different forms of 'augmented poetry' (many of which turned into some of the projects listed above).

During this inaugural outing of my 'Mad Scientist of Words' persona, I invited members of the public to along with a select group of local artists to experience and participate in a number of “mad poetry experiments” (some ‘still-in-progress’, others less so) to receive feedback to further develop my work.

These pictures show audience members engaging with various experimental poems, including a 'Verbal Tea' lounge - featuring poems written in reponse to my sense-memory associations of custom blends of tea - each packaged into handmade sachets.