Title: "Dear [neutral] language, (...)" Date: 2021-11-15 Category: wordmord Tags: language, coding Slug: wordmord-dear-language lang: en event_start: 2021-12-04 18:00 event_duration: 4h30m featured_image: /images/wordmord-dear.png summary: In this worksession the artistic collective research WordMord has invited Allisson Parrish to conduct a workshop exploring the relation of coding to poetry and Manetta Berends and Cristina Cochior to investigate the way coding can destabilise traumatic language. *Wordmord* is a collective artistic research which started as part of the seminar *Feminist Practices in the Public Space at the Era of Globalised Technologies*, organized by the **Centre of New Media and Feminist Practices in the Public Space** at the Department of Architecture, University of Volos (GR) in 2019. The project´s starting point are two instances of public violence, misogyny, and homophobia that occurred in Greece in 2018: the brutal murder of the queer activist Zak/Zackie Oh in Athens and the femicide of Eleni Topaludi in Rhodes. *WordMord* means that words can kill. *WordMord* poses questions on the relationship between language, technology, trauma and violence. How is violence represented through (online) narratives? How can we assemble, archive and thus deconstruct heteronormative, derogatory, sexist, homophobic and transphobic narratives? *WordMord* believes that the violence of language is not eradicated by merely erasing words, but rather by transversing their violent imposition through specific practices, that trouble and disrupt grammatical consistency, semantic norms, 'correct' pronunciation. The rupture of linguistic limits suggests the possibility of experiencing language in its materiality. In this worksession *[WordMord](http://wordmord-ur.la/)* will present their investigations of how coding can destabilise traumatic language. The group has also invited **[Allisson Parrish](https://www.decontextualize.com/)** to conduct the workshop 'Creative Writing with Computers, Noise and Mulch'. In the beginning *WordMord* will present and discuss questions and processes/scripts they have experimented with. They will show tools and methods towards a poetically subversive meta/para/re-writing of derogatory narratives and consequently of trauma and violence. Through coding and algorithmic processes they investigate violent words and their arbitrary use in legal and journalistic/media contexts. These linguistic decisions may reproduce a language that is unjust and repeatedly traumatizes vulnerable bodies. Focusing on specific trial cases of femicide and queericide in Greece they seek to destabilize the normative narratives by counting, investigating, observing, replacing, repeating and multiplying words. ## Creative Writing with Computers, Noise and Mulch Later in the evening we will continue with the workshop by the poet and programmer Allison Parrish: We know computers best as tools for analyzing text, composing text, and "correcting" text through grammar and spell check. But computation is an equally useful tool for pulling language apart, grinding it down, and making it unfamiliar. This workshop offers a short series of hands-on tutorials with code that facilitates destructive and defamiliarizing operations on text. The workshop culminates in a collaboratively produced online zine. No previous programming experience is required. --- *Wordmord* seeks to connect art with queer feminist activism and emancipated life. Through collaborations with artists, performers, linguists, lawyers, programmers, activists and groups working with feminist algorithmic and computational practices, it shapes an online rhizomatic space as an active feminist archive. *WordMord*´s initial research group consists of: **Vassiliea Stylianidou aka Franck-Lee Alli-Tis, Ageliki Diakrousi, Christina Karagianni, Oýto Άrognos aka Stylianos Benetos, Mounologies: Eleni Diamantouli and Anna Delimpasi**. At a later stage **Cristina Cochior and Manetta Berends** joined the group to contribute with linguistic coding practices. **Allison Parrish** is a computer programmer, poet, and game designer whose teaching and practice address the unusual phenomena that blossom when language and computers meet. She is an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU's Interactive Telecommunications Program. Allison was named "Best Maker of Poetry Bots" by the Village Voice in 2016, and her zine of computer-generated poems called "Compasses" received an honorary mention in the 2021 Prix Ars Electronica. Allison is the co-creator of the board game Rewordable (Clarkson Potter, 2017) and author of several books, including @Everyword: The Book (Instar, 2015) and Articulations (Counterpath, 2018). Her poetry has recently appeared in BOMB Magazine and Strange Horizons. Allison is originally from West Bountiful, Utah and currently lives in Brooklyn. --- **Date**: 4th of December 2021
**Time**: 16:00-20:30 CET
**Location**: Online [link soon]
**Note**: This session will be held in English with possibility of tranlating in Greek if needed. **To register, please send an email to [hello@wordmordur.la](mailto:hello@wordmordur.la).** **Schedule**:
16:00-17:00 Presentation of WordMord
17:00-17:45 Discussion
17:45-18:00 Break
18:00-20:00 'Creative Writing with Computers, Noise and Mulch' with Allison Parrish
20:00-20:30 Discussion
--- This event is made possible with the support of the [Creatieve Industrie NL](https://stimuleringsfonds.nl/).