Hyperrhiz 29

Reconstructing Poetry in Web3: An Interview with Ana Maria Caballero

Ana María Caballero

Interview by
Merve Güven Özkerim

Citation: Caballero, Ana María and Merve Güven Özkerim. “Reconstructing Poetry in Web3: An Interview with Ana Maria Caballero.” Hyperrhiz: New Media Cultures, no. 29, 2025. doi:10.20415/hyp/029.int01

Abstract: In this interview with Ana María Caballero, we explore how poetry intersects with technology and Web3—highlighting its potential to redefine creative expression, challenge power dynamics, and enhance the cultural relevance of poetry in the digital age.

Keywords: transdisciplinary, poetry, Web3, blockchain, generative art, AI based art.

Interview

Merve Güven Özkerim: How do you ensure communication and transitions between forms by incorporating many disciplines, technology, plastic and performative arts? How do you manage to stick to the essence of poetry while doing this?

Ana Maria Caballero: My work always begins with text—the book, the poem, with verse. Even my digital work, or the work in which I incorporate artificial intelligence or other forms of technology, always starts with a pen and paper and a poem or a book.

I add other elements to expand the ways others might experience, think about, or interpret my work. I also feel that these new forms and disciplines help bring new audiences to poetry, which can only prove positive for both ends.

Merve Güven Özkerim: How has the development of electronic literature influenced your work?

Ana Maria Caballero: It’s truly been expansive to engage with networked and digital forms of expression. At the end of the poem, we still return to the emotion, to the moment of quiet, of creation, of composition. But now there are so many more ways to bring this verse into the world—out of the notebook, out of the drawer in your office, and into existence.

Each new option adds different layers.

While holding a book in your hands is incredibly special—nothing quite compares—it’s also powerful to incorporate voice, body language, or performance into a work, bringing it to life in a new way. It’s also interesting to engage with artificial intelligence, which raises interesting questions. For instance: what is at stake when language can now become literal via the visual?

Merve Güven Özkerim: Have you encountered any challenges or limitations in integrating code based techniques and blockchain technology into your poetic practice?

Ana Maria Caballero: Yes, definitely, especially when it comes to the UX/UI of Web3. Of course, once you get the swing of things, it’s worth it and exciting.

Merve Güven Özkerim: Do you think generative art and blockchain technology can be a tool in shaping discussions around gender, identity and representation? What effects do you think all these technologies will have on society and culture?

Ana Maria Caballero: Even though p5.js was developed by two women, one of whom is Lauren Lee McCarthy, of whom I’m a tremendous fan—most of the huge success cases are white Western males.

So I think that for Web3 to deliver on its promise, the ecosystem needs to engage with works that raise difficult and complex questions and are not just pleasing to the eye.

Merve Güven Özkerim: In your opinion, have art and technology developed historically within power relations, and have their basic principles been shaped by this dynamic? So, what position did poetry take within these relations?

Ana Maria Caballero: Everything develops within power, relations. We live in a society that is patriarchal. You look at who’s in power and it’s self-evident. Men have been Presidents of the United States since it was founded.

All technology is developed within existing power struggles—in offices, in the home—which is why a lot of my work is about the unequal division of labour in the home.

Even now, in our current society, it’s the woman who has to do it. To be at home at the end of the day, to answer for the children, to respond to questions concerning dinner.

All technology develops within the reality of our world, which is a world of deep-rooted, deep-rooted, existing gender inequality and socio-economic inequality.

Merve Güven Özkerim: In an interview with Morgan Meaker (2023), Cory Doctorow highlights that major technology platforms lock users into their systems to maintain control and emphasises that interoperability is the solution. He sees interoperability as a crucial step that will allow users to leave the platforms and regain control of the internet. Do you agree with this view ?

Ana Maria Caballero: I just don’t know if it’s enough, to be honest. Because ultimately we need a host, don’t we? We need to meet somewhere and it’s hard to imagine a reality where that wouldn’t end up being centralised and dominated by the existing systems of power.

Merve Güven Özkerim: On the other hand, do you think that artists who produce work that is more suitable for display within the limitations of Twitter, Facebook and other major technology platforms have an advantage?

Ana Maria Caballero: Artists who excel at communicating their work via social media, condensing their message into 240 characters, undoubtedly have an advantage.

Merve Güven Özkerim: In an environment where software and hardware are developed centrally, is it possible to completely eliminate these platforms and achieve the kind of interoperability that Cory Doctorow talked about? Do you think Web3 has the potential to develop new perspectives on these issues?

Ana Maria Caballero: I want to believe it—but I suppose I’d have to see it to truly believe. I’d love to hold onto that belief, but so far, it hasn’t materialized. We remain quite far from witnessing the emergence of decentralized, interoperable networks. There is hope for a new kind of platform—but whether it will fulfill its promise remains uncertain.

Merve Güven Özkerim: Do you want to add anything else?

Ana Maria Caballero:  I would like to add that it's important to view poetry as a fine art, to value the work and craft of the poet. What if we considered poetry books as solo exhibitions? What if we reviewed, engaged with, and delved into them as such? Instead of relegating book reviews to a few paragraphs in the back pages of a literary journal, what if we bring them to the front page?

So many poets are working tirelessly to give voice and meaning to what remains unsaid in our society, and it’s crucial that we recognize that effort and give it the attention it deserves.