Chapter 1: Introduction to AI and Poetry

Recently, I penned a poem titled "Tell Me," which you can read here:

Poetry, by its very nature, is often abstract. The memories of how I felt while writing it have faded, as have the images in my mind. However, I've recently experimented with several text-to-image AIs like Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion, and Midjourney. Their capability to produce abstract visuals from written prompts fascinated me.

As part of my exploration, I decided to generate images for each stanza of my poem. I hoped that one of the images might resonate with the feelings I struggled to articulate.

Did it succeed? You can review the stanzas alongside their corresponding visuals before I share my reflections. Enjoy the journey!

Tell me

When was it last, you felt overwhelmed,

That your skin buzzed with goosebumps,

And your heart raced wildly?

Tell me

When was it last, you experienced true kindness,

Where joy filled your heart,

And peace settled in your mind?

Tell me

When was it last, you couldn't release

The wild, seething rage

As fierce as a hurricane's flow?

Tell me a story

Of the starry night sky

And its eternal emptiness, difficult to deny.

Of the lush green lands and oceans so blue,

And of those barren deserts with a golden hue.

Of graceful kindness and uplifting hope,

And of the slippery slope of wickedness.

Of life's abundance,

And of death's void.

Tell me

Some experiences are meant to be felt,

Unheard and untold,

Unseen and unsmelled,

Free from all mortal senses,

Yet, paradoxically, using them all.

Tell Me…My Reflections

So, what are my thoughts on the images produced?

To be honest, I'm uncertain. While some of the visuals are striking, none seem to fully encapsulate the essence of my poem. Some images adhere too closely to the literal interpretation of the words, while others feel somewhat nebulous. Yet, each image evokes a specific emotional and mental reaction that aligns with the corresponding stanza, which I think is a commendable feat for AI.

For instance, certain visuals effectively convey feelings of fear or eeriness when themes like life and death arise. It appears that translating the abstract nature of poetry into a single image is inherently challenging.

This, I believe, is intentional. Human language—shaped by unique structures, cultural nuances, analogies, metaphors, and personal experiences—is created for other humans to interpret, feel, and visualize. Each individual's perception of abstract art, whether it be a poem or a painting, is unique, influenced by their personal experiences.

If we aspire for AI to truly capture the essence of a poem, we may need to convert the poem into a format that AI comprehends—a task that could be considered an art in its own right.

Thank you for joining me on this exploration! I would love to hear your opinions on the generated visuals.

Fin.

Note: All images without captions were created by the author using lines from the poem as prompts. These images are for educational purposes only.

Chapter 2: The AI Experience

In this video, "The Hellish Landscape of Published AI Poetry," we delve into how AI interprets poetry and generates visuals, touching on the complexities of this process.

Chapter 3: Creating Visual Poetry with AI

The second video, "Making Video Poem with AI, two workflows," explores different workflows for transforming poetry into video formats using AI technology.