The poem is to poetry as the record is to music

card, biro

The poem is to poetry as the record is to music is an exploration of how we present and create poems. The installation invites the audience to become part of the work by encouraging them to take a line they resonate with and replace it with either their own line or something they want to give to the space. 

The installation is designed to be dismantled and reformed through the eyes of the viewer, actively seeking opportunities for metamorphosis. 

The poem lines have been written with the intent of ‘something for everyone’, the pattern chosen to resemble a home, with perspective changes from different viewing angles. 

Alex’s exploration of the nature of the poem in relation to poetry stems from their study of the connections between liminal and queer spaces, ocean depths, and ergodic forms of literature, such as ‘choose your own adventure books’ and ‘menus’.

Alex’s work examines ideas of authorship and invites communities to become co-creators of the poem. By removing the focus on the individual, the work creates a collective spiritual experience, fostering stronger connections between the poem and its participants.

Alex Vellis is a Greek-British poet, producer, and playwright from Canterbury, Kent. They hold an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Kent and have published five books through Whisky & Beards Publishing.

Alex’ work challenges the ideas of hope and home, love and futility, and identity and place. Their new book ‘I saw a bird once’ follows the lives of three people as they explore change in a working-class world. Alex’s work has been studied in schools in the Netherlands and in young offender’s institutes in the United States.

Vellis has performed nationally and internationally as a poet, gracing stages in Paris, London, Oxford, and Malta. As well as delivering lectures at universities and festivals on events production, being a working-class artist, and poetry in the larger sphere.