In Extremis: Practice-Based Research on Engaging the Climate Crisis with Constraint-based Poetry

The unprecedented climate crisis requires a radical rethinking of the historical role of
poetry in observing nature. This practice-based research project engages the adverse
effects of climate change by using constraint-based writing methods to engender a new
orientation toward the climate crisis, thereby renewing the possibilities for agency and
reflection. In 2023 alone, the world witnessed multiple broken climate records: the
hottest day on record, the hottest June on record globally, record low Antarctic sea ice
levels, and more. This global crisis encompasses Hong Kong, which faces rising
temperatures, rising sea levels, and increased rainfall, as well as the Greater Bay Area
and the whole of mainland China.
This project responds to the crisis in an urgent and novel way by means of constraintbased poetry that explores our experience of extreme weather events. In contrast to
commonly used free verse or received poetic forms to depict the natural world, this
project employs sui generis constraint-based writing strategies derived from Western
(Oulipian) and Chinese literary traditions to produce new insights into our relationship
to the climate crisis and its attendant constraints.
Central to this initiative is computer coding that will enable the researcher to create
visualizations of site-specific climate change data via poetic forms. Engagement with
such AI-assisted computer programming during the research phase will culminate in an
interactive website that invites people from across the world to write poems about their
own experiences with extreme weather. The platform will allow users to create a deeply
personal, yet universal connection to the global climate crisis. Constraints in this context
are seen not only as limitations imposed by climate change, but also as tools for
fostering creative engagement and meaningful action.
The project outputs include a manuscript titled In Extremis that will increase awareness
of climate change’s adverse effects, underscore humans’ role in the crisis, and explore
how human behavior can mitigate these impacts. A critical article that analyzes
constraint-based poetry writing will be published within the book itself, offering a
hybrid work that bridges creative writing and scholarly research. This research project
advances work in creative geography and creative writing studies, as it seeks to reorient
our understanding of climate change. The impact will extend beyond literary innovation,
fostering a global community of engaged citizens enabled to reflect on and respond to
the constraints and possibilities inherent in addressing the climate crisis.