To Make a Nature Poem II by Tom Mirovski

In this methodology, I sought to mimic the cell's process of translation between different forms
of information by constructing my own series of conversions. In the cell, information stored in
the form of DNA is copied into messenger sequences called mRNA, which interface with the
molecular machinery to produce proteins. Drawing inspiration from this chain of translations, I
converted an original text through different types of codes. In the final step, I translated back into
English to produce a new text and to observe the effects of the conversions. I performed this
methodology on Tristan Tzara's poem, How to Make a Dadaist Poem, a text which also describes
an experimental writing technique (1).

To make a Dadaist poem:

- Take a newspaper.
- Take a pair of scissors.
- Choose an article as long as you are planning to make your poem.
- Cut out the article.
Then cut out each of the words that make up this article and put them in a bag.
- Shake it gently.
- Then take out the scraps one after the other in the order in which they left the bag.
Copy conscientiously.
- The poem will be like you.
- And here are you a writer, infinitely original and endowed with a sensibility that is charming
though beyond the understanding of the vulgar.
--Tristan Tzara
Step 1: Text to DNA conversion. I first deleted all the letters and punctuation, except a, t, c, and
g, from Tristan Tzara's poem. Dividing the remaining text into three parts, I plugged each of the
DNA-like sequences into the National Center for Biotechnology Information "BLASTn" tool to
identify organisms containing similar sequences in their DNA. Below I have recorded the a, t, c,
and g letters remaining after the deletions of the original poem, as well as the studied species
containing the most similar sequences.
A: t a a aat ta a a ta a a c c a atc a g a a ag t a
Mus musculus, House Mouse

ct t t atc

B: t ct t ac t tat a t atc a t t a ag a t gt t ta t t ca at t t t c t t t ag
Oryzias latipes, Japanese Rice Fish
C: c cct t
a a a t, t ga a t a t tat cag tg t tag t ga tta taa
Streptococcus salivarius, Strepococcus bacteria

Step 2: DNA to Morse Code conversion. Continuing this biologically inspired chain of
translations, I converted the DNA-like sequences from Step 1 into another code, using two
different methods. I based the first method on the molecular shapes of the DNA building blocks,
interpreting the single ring structure contained by cytosine (c) and tyrosine (t) building blocks as
a dot, and the elongated, fused ring structure of the adenine (a) and guanine (g) building blocks
as a dash (Fig 2). Taking the A, B, and C DNA-like sequences, I substituted a dot for every c and
t, and a dash for every a and g. In the second method, I referred to a precedent for this kind of
interdisciplinary art. I followed the method of translation developed by Artist Eduardo Kac in his
"Genesis" project, in which t's, c's, g's, and a's correspond to dashes, dots, letter spaces, and word
spaces, respectively (Fig 3).
Method 1:

Figure 2: Ring Structures in DNA.

Adenine and Guanine containing
building blocks, known as Purines,
possess a fused ring structure.
Pyramidines, such as Cytosine and
Thymine, are composed of a single
ring structure.

A: - . . ..- -. . . -. . . - - . .-- . . . . .. - . -- - - .-B: - -- - .- - -.- . - .-- . - - . .. . - .- - -. - - -. .- - - - - - - - ..

C: - --- . . . - - .. . - . - -.- -.. -. - -.. - .. --. -..
Method 2:
Figure 3: "Genesis," by Eduardo Kac.
Kac used this method of conversions
between text, Morse Code, and DNA in
order to synthesize and integrate a
translated sentence into the genome of a
bacteria. The results of ultra-violet light
induced mutations upon the original text
were then observed. In this
methodology, I utilize the same method
of translation he performed.

A: - - - - . . -.
- .- - - -.
B: - .- - . - -- - -. - -- ----. --- - .--C: . ..- - - - - -- . - - - - -- Step 3: Morse Code to Text conversion. I plugged the codes into an online Morse Code
translator. I highlighted the words I could identify in the text produced.
Method 1
A: TEEUNEENEETTEWEEEEITEMTTW
B: TMTATKETWETTEIETATNTTNATTTTTTTI
C: TOTEEETTIETETKDNTDTIGD

Method 2
A: TTTTEENTATTN
B: TATETMTNTTTTTTTTETTTTETTT
C: EUTTTTTMETTTTMT
Text to Nature Poem: Finally, I constructed a nature poem produced through the series of
conversions.
we
tat we tat
to tie
teen tat
ate
met

1) "Poetic Technique: Chance Operations." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web.
26 Sept. 2015.
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