not(e)ourpoetry

not(e)ourpoetry explores the tension between preservation and erasure in Black literary history through the lens of digital transformation. The title "not(e)ourpoetry" functions on multiple levels - it references both the historical denial of Black literary ownership ("not our poetry") and the digital annotation/encoding of text (the "e" in red suggesting electronic/digital marking).

The work draws from significant 19th and early 20th century Black American literary works, including texts by W.E.B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Solomon Northup, and Harriet E. Wilson. Each time the generator is activated, it performs a dual display: the original text appears alongside its "digital translation" - a systematic replacement of human experiences with computer processes.

The digital mappings are not random but carefully considered: "rivers" become "datastreams," "memory" transforms to "cache," "soul" converts to "kernel." These translations serve as a commentary on how digitization both preserves and alters cultural memory, mirroring historical processes of documentation and erasure that have affected Black literary traditions.

The inclusion of binary code beneath each text fragment represents another layer of transformation - the reduction of complex human experiences to 1s and 0s. This binary translation speaks to both the preservation and the potential loss inherent in digital archiving, particularly relevant to communities whose histories have often been systematically erased or altered in official records.

The glitch effects and unstable text styling serve as visual metaphors for the fragility of digital preservation and the ongoing struggle against data corruption and loss. The red digital translations echo the traditional practice of text annotation while suggesting the sometimes violent nature of technological transformation.

What happens to cultural memory when it's encoded? Who controls the protocols of preservation? How do we maintain the humanity in human expression when it's translated into digital form?