5th June 2025

On the 1st of June 2025 the Centre for Computing History organised it's first ever poetry event as part of the Broken Tech, Broken Earth project. The Broken Tech, Broken Earth project is an exciting opportunity for the museum to experiment and engage new visitors in the local community through the discussion of the environmental and social implications of technology. The project values participatory practice and enabling the museum to have a more equitable relationship to the visitors. We hope to listen to their stories and personal insights instead of assuming we know how to display the collection. 

Visitors ended up writing a total of 32 poems on the day, filling up our poetry wall quite quickly! The most emotionally impactful, the most creative and the most thought provoking poems won prizes bags filled with Centre for Computing History merch! 

There were several activities and prompts on our poetry writing workshop facilitated by our professional poet, Noa Smith! We had acrostic poetry templates, blackout poetry activities made from computing magazines from the 80s as well as free verse poetry writing tips. 

Four poems were performed on the day which was a great way to share work with everyone else and inspire others to get creative and start writing. It isn't easy to write a poem, many people feel shy or nervous to put themselves out there for others to see. But the museum was such a welcoming, friendly and uplifting space to support each other. Noa, our professional poet's ethos said that 'art is a behaviour and not a skill, meaning that anyone can make art if the right environment is created to support them.' 

The event was a huge success with many visitors sparking interesting conversations and thoughtful reflections as a result! We can't wait to have the poems placed in our new audio exhibition machine so that the poems can be a permanent part of our collection! We will also be making our own zines filled with the blackout poetry made by the visitors to have in addition. With how well received the poetry wall was, we will be keeping that up in the main gallery for everyone to enjoy as well! Let's keep making a positive legacy through the Broken Tech, Broken Earth project!