Does AI Have a Place in Poetry? Ana Maria Caballero's Innovative and Controversial Creativity

Ceri speaks to Ana Maria Caballero, a Colombian-born literary artist who is breaking boundaries in the world of poetry. From selling a poem at Sotheby's to collaborating with AI, Ana Maria's journey reflects the power of persistence and innovation. She talks about balancing creativity with practicality, embracing collaboration, and reimagining classic literature for new generations, to inspire creatives across all disciplines.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Ana Maria balances creative growth with practicality, starting in finance before moving onto journalism and working for the Colombian vice president.
• Her experience in the press office built resilience and taught her the value of feedback, crucial for her development as a writer.
• She emphasises the importance of maintaining a beginner's mindset in creative practice and embracing the personal as a gateway to the universal.
• You have to be resilient as a creative, Ana submitted her work to 50 publishers before winning a poetry prize!
• She explores the translation of ideas across different mediums, from traditional poetry to digital art and AI collaborations.
• Ana Maria advocates for reimagining classic literature through technology to engage new generations beyond traditional educational methods.
• There are challenges and opportunities of being a pioneer in merging poetry with new media and blockchain technology. This can be seen as quite controversial in the creative world.
• Ana Maria emphasises the importance of honest self-expression in writing, using her work as a means of self-preservation and connection with readers.

BEST MOMENTS

"I'm very truthful. I really try to be honest. Thank you. And I let myself write the hard truth and let it be there and not delete it, not edit it."

"There is a difficulty sometimes as a writer to allow someone else to mess with your writing. And I have found that the best work that I've really put out there has been Much of it, beside an editor who understands, respects, but also, you know, is willing to cut what you've done."

"I wanted my work to have this pulse beyond the page, and I've really been able to find that by engaging with new media because the new media community is a vibrant, thriving community."

"I think that ripping apart attacks, playing with it, cutting and pasting and putting into stable diffusion, turning it into an artwork to really connect with one single text in a very meaningful way is so much more important than to read... You know, 10 books in a semester and write five paragraph essays on them."

"I submitted it probably 50 different places until it finally won a National Poetry Prize."

"I started writing this book when I was pregnant with my daughter who's turning nine next week actually. So it's been a long, long process."

"I really do see my work as a, as a means of self preservation. So it's like I save myself and regain my centre by writing them."

EPISODE RESOURCES

Ana María Caballero:

Twitter: @CaballeroAnaMa

Instagram: @anamariacaballero

Website: anamariacaballero.com

theVERSEverse (Digital Poetry Gallery):

Website: theVERSEverse

Poetry Society of America:

Website: Poetry Society of America

Ashmolean Museum:

Twitter: @AshmoleanMuseum

Instagram: @ashmoleanmuseum

Gazelli Art House:

Instagram: @gazelliarthouse

PODCAST HOST BIO

With over 30 years in the art world, Ceri has worked closely with leading artists and arts professionals, managed public and private galleries and charities, and curated more than 250 exhibitions and events. She sold artworks to major museums and private collectors and commissioned thousands of works across diverse media, from renowned artists such as John Akomfrah, Pipilotti Rist, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer and Vito Acconci. Now, she wants to share her extensive knowledge with you, so you can excel and achieve your goals.

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