Christian Bok

The first work of 'living poetry' in the world, by the author of the bestselling book Eunoia
Shortlisted for the 2016 Stephan G. Stephansson Award for Poetry (Alberta Literary Awards)
Internationally renowned poet Christian Bok has encoded a poem (called Orpheus') into the genome of a germ so that, in reply, the cell builds a protein that encodesyetanother poem (called Eurydice'). After having illustrated this idea in E. coli, Bok is planning to insert his poem into a deathless bacterium (D. radiodurans), thereby writing a text able to outlive every apocalypse, enduring till the Sun itself expires.
Book 1 of The Xenotext is an infernal grimoire' that introduces readers to the conceptual groundwork for this project. The book offers a primer in genetics, even as it revisits the pastoral heritageof poetry, updating the orphic idylls of Virgil for a new age of mythic danger – be it in the beauty of artful biogenesis, if not in the terror of global extinction.
The cellular "rules* that govern this extraordinary text allow Bok to create one of the most beautiful poems of our time – a poem in which the georgics of Virgil join forces with the double helix of Watson and Crick.' – Marjorie Perloff
If Human reverence was slanted more toward Natureand less toward the exaltation of gods, our scriptures might have looked something like The Xenotext .' – Peter Watts
Many artists seek to attain immortality through their art, but few would expect their work to outlast the human race and live on for billions of years. As Canadian poet Christian Bok has realized, it all comes down to the durability of your materials.' – The Guardian