IF:SO LAUREATES: ONE: THE CLOUD CHAMBER
We will be regularly adding articles on exciting digital literature projects written by the people who made them happen. Spill the beans about the perils, pitfalls and pleasures of the work you do and join the longlist to be an Ifsoflo laureate of digital brilliance. To start us off our Geek of The Week ANGEL DAHOUK of THE POETRY SOCIETY writes about...
THE CLOUD CHAMBER
Considering poetry across the curriculum
and across disciplines

The Cloud Chamber began as a solution to assembling a large number of poets without encountering barriers of distance or timing. The vision was a virtual symposium of inspired brainstorming and pixellating poetry.

In 2000, the Poetry Society conceived the Poetryclass scheme which involved a team of poet-educators across the country working closely with teachers, allowing them an insight into poets’ minds and igniting their confidence and enthusiasm for teaching poetry. In 2009, the Poetry Society received three year funding from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation to focus on a number of areas, one of which will introduce poetry modules into initial teacher training at primary level. We are particularly keen to promote the use of cross-curricular poetry so that it becomes a natural art form to encounter in all subject areas rather than being confined to the literacy hour. Teaching poetry across the curriculum and encouraging writing across disciplines is not a new development by any means. However, as poetry is covered as a component of English, it is often neglected as an art form.

The Cloud Chamber serves as the first research stage into how poetry has featured in different areas of study, and how we can build on this. An experimental online meeting space, the Cloud Chamber encourages broader discussions around the trans-disciplinary use of poetry. It aims to connect poets, writers, academics, researchers and specialists in other fields to enable a dialogue exploring issues and practical approaches to the widening of poetry into other subject areas. Poet and educator Cliff Yates initiated discussions in three categories centred around philosophy, poems and practice.

Since it opened, the Cloud Chamber has raised awareness of poetry developments around the country, as well as allowing participants to access a creative network which may yield further collaborative work. For the practitioners, it is an opportunity for skills sharing and utilising other areas of expertise to create links with poetry.

The decision was taken to make the forum private (view and post by invitation only) to create a protected space in which contributors could share their work with no threat of copyright infringement. This also encouraged contributors to be more open with their reflections and ideas.

Wordpress was selected as a platform for discussions. A free online blogging facility, Wordpress is simple to navigate around and uses a content management system to upload information. When additional features are used, however, there is a small charge. Although the blog was designed inhouse, a software company was hired in to translate the design into CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). So, the first problem we were confronted with was the cost. Web expertise demands a high price.

The second dilemma we faced was persuading those who were interested in the Cloud Chamber to undertake the process of signing up with Wordpress. To overcome this, it is vital to develop further online literature projects so that people become more accustomed to the digital world.

In its first three months, the Cloud Chamber has attracted 61 registered readers and contributors across a range of regions and disciplines. Anyone who wishes to read or join in the debate, please send an email to Angel Dahouk at adahouk@poetrysociety.org.uk