Description

KERNPUNKT Press, paperback

Publication Date: April 2, 2022

Publisher Marketing: “Instrument for Distributed Empathy Monetization” is Sylvia Plath’s Ariel for the age of algorithmic capitalism and the sentient corporation. Combining PowerPoint templates with charts and collateral sampled from Google Patents, the series blurs the lines between visual poetry and the corporate performativity of self.

“This is a poem for our times. Modernism and Post-modernism have faded. Welcome to the age of monetization.” Entropy “Clever, boldly innovative social commentary.” Kirkus Reviews

“Though small, instrument for distributed empathy monetization is a mighty release in this era of NFTs, cryptocurrency, and the Metaverse. In this regard, Lessards work is as much a series of ecstatic, poetic lightning bolts as it is a no-holds-barred criticism of the tech world and our Matrix-esque future. Lessard has chosen not just to describe the nightmarish evolution of technology before us, but, like the Futurists 100 years ago, to proclaim its damnation.” Rain Taxi

William Lessard has writing that has appeared or is forthcoming in American Poetry Review, Best American Experimental Writing, and the Southwest Review. He is Poetry & Hybrids editor at Heavy Feather Review. His visual work has been featured at MoMA PS 1.