Predictable Text

Samantha Carr

Chronic fatigue syndrome is
an example of is it real? 
characterised by
symptoms
and treatment. NICE.
ME/CFS is a test – is getting worse.
Just laziness
isn't real. 
An example of – a disability
characterised by Quizlet is
thought to be
associated with a neurological syndrome.
which virus? How long 
does it last?

The Science

This poem was inspired by predictive text and how it shapes our language and, therefore, our thought processes around chronic illness. These predictive algorithms can be viewed as a digital extension of our cognition. This raises interesting questions about machine learning and its application to healthcare. To create the poem, I explored the various connotations of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalitis (ME) or ME/CFS, a condition that has a multitude of debilitating symptoms that can lead to disability. I used several search engines to investigate these three terms to elicit potential lines to juxtapose and challenge the idea of embodiment and medical/social consensus. This can be seen with the single word, ‘NICE,’ which represents the National Institute of Clinical Excellence, and the various delays to the amendments of their guidance for the condition, which eliminated the recommendation for graded exercise therapy. The form of the poetry was inspired by Larry Eigner’s use of irregular lines, which, according to Michael Davidson, suggests a “spectrum of positions around embodiment.” Hilary Gravendyk stated that this irregularity “…both highlights the physical and cerebral processes of perception and attends to the problem of language as partially constitutive of such proprioceptive formulations.”

The Poet

Samantha Carr is based in Plymouth, where she is a Creative Writing PhD Candidate writing about chronic illness through poetry. Her work has been published in Acumen, Arc, Room, Cephalopress, and The Storms Journal. She was recently awarded second place for the inaugural Molecules Unlimited poetry competition.

Next poem: Proband by Alex Davey