A MEDITATION IN MAINE, after Allen Ginsberg, “Berenice Abbott, May 14, 1985”

Allen Ginsberg

One of six unique works in “A PICTURE OF MY MIND: Poems Written by Allen Ginsberg’s Photographs,” theVERSEverse’s inaugural collection of ekphrastic poetry using natural language processing technology and text-to-image/image-to-text techniques to respond to the iconic words and images of the legendary Beat poet. Presented at UNIT London’s online exhibition from 15 November — 12 December, 2023.

Developed in conjunction with The Fahey/Klein Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition “Muses & Self: Photographs by Allen Ginsberg,” in partnership with the Allen Ginsberg Estate, theVERSEverse member Ross Goodwin, UNIT London, and the support of the Tezos Foundation.

Available to collect via UNIT London.



A MEDITATION IN MAINE

You, shutterbug of human geometry! 
You, grand monograph of shadows and light,
learning positives from negatives,
and every intricate detail of existence
clicking to the rhythm of the time machine in our grasp!
What can be said about what we see?
It is a conversation without words.
Everything is connected.
Nothing remains the same. 
O dear Berenice, 
it’s all in the eye, 
all in the mind, 
all in the heart of the whispering winds.

– theVERSEverse after Allen Ginsberg, “Berenice Abbott, May 14, 1985”