The Poetry Room

an immersive, interactive environment in which a performer's voice generates real-time visuals and soundscapes.

Created with support and funding from Createch Frontiers (July 2026), The Poetry Room uses a bespoke software engine to create real-time poetic matches between transcribed speech-to-text and a database of images.

The system transposes poetry performance, speeches and conversations into visual images that can be projected into any AV spaces.

It was created by Lee Mackenzie, Lorenzo Prati and James Mcilwrath and we are interested in using it to explore the increased accessibility of digital archives.

Play

Lee Mackenzie and James Mcilwrath talk whilst in the Poetry Room - July 2026

Poems

The Tyger - William Blake

read by James Mcilwrath

Going Home - Wisława Szymborska

read by James Mcilwrath

Beowulf - Heaney's Translation

read by James Mcilwrath