New Contexts 6
New Contexts 6 by Ian Gouge, published by Coverstory Books on March 2, 2024, is a curated anthology that explores the complexities of selecting literary works. This edition, comprising 122 pages, delves into the challenges faced by editors in recognizing unique and well-crafted pieces while balancing personal preferences. Gouge reflects on the selection process, emphasizing the quality of submissions and the inherent difficulties in narrowing down choices for inclusion.
In this sixth edition, readers will encounter a thoughtful examination of the evolving landscape of literature, particularly in relation to the impact of artificial intelligence on creative writing. The anthology raises questions about the authenticity of literary voices and the potential future of poetry and prose in an age where AI-generated content is becoming increasingly sophisticated. Through this collection, Gouge aims to highlight the talent of writers while contemplating the implications of technology on the literary world.
Official synopsis Publisher
Curating a collection such as New Contexts provides its editor with an interesting conundrum in that their job is not simply to trawl through all the submissions in order to find pieces they like. Of course personal preference plays a large part in the selection process, but the curator also has a responsibility to try and recognise the well-written unique and novel – and which, on one level, they may not actually like very much.
Having said this, I count myself very fortunate in that the vast majority of the work I receive is not only of good quality, but personally appealing; and whilst this might suggest that arriving at a final shortlist should therefore be easy, in many respects it makes it just as hard. If not harder. This is the sixth edition of New Contexts and, as ever, I find myself forced by practical constraints not to include some decent work I appreciate. The final selection is, inevitably, some kind of reflection on me – but primarily, I hope, it is a testament to the great writers who have offered up their work.
There is a cloud on the horizon however: Artificial Intelligence. A subject everyone is talking about. Like many people, I have seen poems written by AI. Often these are derivative, and lack sophistication and emotional depth. I would like to think that years of reading creative writing in its many forms gives me sufficient instinct to have a decent chance of spotting an impostor. Or should I say that I ‘liked’ to think that. Now I’m not so sure.
Recently, poetry and prose competitions have started to provide unsuccessful entrants with ‘feedback’ written by AI. I myself have been on the receiving end. The document I was presented with was well-structured, logical, coherent; it obeyed a clear set of ‘rules’. But not only was it ‘intelligent’, I couldn’t tell it hadn’t been written by a person. At all. With that speed of development, how long will it be before AI short fiction and poetry is equally indistinguishable? Or somehow flawless? Perhaps we’re already there. Perhaps someone included in this anthology isn’t a real human at all..!
People debate the impact AI is likely to have on the creative arts. One consequence may be that collections such as New Contexts are relegated to become a thing of the past.
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