Magic and AI in the Poetics of H.D.
Publication information:
Abstract
This paper examines the intersection of spirituality, art, and technology in H.D.’s (Hilda Doolittle) poetics, framing her work as a model of poetry as artificial intelligence. By linking her conception of poetry as magic with psychoanalysis, myth, and wartime trauma, it highlights the ethical and transformative dimensions of her practice. Extending the Ancient Greek concept of technē to encompass the cognitive and transformative capacities of verse, the paper situates H.D.’s poetics within broader discussions on spirituality’s role in shaping cultural and personal identities, demonstrating how her poetry enacts a spiritually engaged and ethically charged form of extended intelligence.
Presenter Biography
Dr. Orla Polten is a literary scholar affiliated with McGill University’s Poetry Matters initiative. She completed her PhD the University of Cambridge. Her work explores classical reception, modernist poetics, and artificial intelligence. Her forthcoming book, English Verse in Classical Metres: Pagan Poetry, 1860-1930, examines poetic form as a linguistic technology with ethical and cognitive dimensions.