A Conversation with Amaranth Borsuk
Em Teaze and Jon Tobias talk to the scholar
and poet about algorithmic poetry and her digital poem, “Book of Dust”
For this episode of PIPO, Jon and guest host Em Teaze interview poet and scholar Amaranth Borsuk, author of The Book and W /\ SH, about their algorithmic poem Book of Dust. In this interview they share thoughts on the importance of collaboration, ephemerality, and how electronic literature speaks to both. In this interview Borsuk also shares the poets she turns to as sources for inspiration.
Amaranth Borsuk is a scholar, poet, and digital artist. She is author of The Book (MIT Press, 2018), an introduction to the book as object, content, idea, and interface. Her most recent collection, W/\SH (Anhinga, 2026), is a work of speculative poetry created with poet and artist Terri Witek. Her previous books of poetry include Pomegranate Eater (Kore Press, 2016) and Handiwork (Slope Editions, 2012), as well as the collaborations Abra (1913 Press, 2016), with Kate Durbin and Ian Hatcher; As We Know (Subito Press, 2014), with Andy Fitch; and Between Page and Screen (Siglio Press 2012, SpringGun Press, 2016), with Brad Bouse. In addition to her page-based work, she has collaborated widely on installations, art bookmarklets, and interactive digital artworks.
Borsuk has a Ph.D. in literature and creative writing from the University of Southern California and was a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Comparative Media Studies and Writing and Humanistic Studies at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences at the University of Washington, Bothell.
Em Teaze and Jon Tobias deliver poetry from around the world to connect you with poets from Cuba, Vietnam, Iraq, Sweden, and more. Through sharing poems from Poetry International, we offer a moment to reflect and spark conversations about poetry and the mysteries of the world around us. Join PIPO for a poem, a conversation, and reflection every episode, once a month.