Poet and 'Doctor Who' Writer Inua Ellams on Why Algorithms Don’t Define Art скачать в хорошем качестве

Poet and 'Doctor Who' Writer Inua Ellams on Why Algorithms Don’t Define Art

Inua Ellams hefty list of roles. He is an award-winning poet, playwright, and curator, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and an MBE recipient for services to the arts in the King’s Birthday Honours. He has also notably written an episode of the widely loved British sci-fi show Doctor Who. When asked whether online visibility reduces the ability to be vulnerable in one’s creative process, he responds with clarity. “When I think of my brand, I think of myself as a living, breathing human being who is full of contradictions and full of mistakes and who constantly evolves. I see that in the sweep of my work,” he says. “What I wrote and how I wrote, I don’t know, 15 years ago, isn’t how I write now. I’m embarrassed by those things because the style is terrible, it’s overwritten, it’s long. But what I try to do is embrace all of that, even when I’m embarrassed about it…. So I think on social media, that’s also what I try to do. I never try to filter myself. I try to embrace all my flaws.” Yet beneath the discourse around authenticity, vulnerability, and belonging lies a quieter, perhaps equally concerning, topic: the need for creative work to be able to monetarily sustain itself. For a line of work that inherently places passion over profits, it is a thin line that modern-day creative entrepreneurs have to tread— especially when “easy” monetization strategies can seem enticing. “I don’t think you go into writing poetry for money,” says Ellams. “Which means trying to create a quote-unquote product that is sales-driven and reacts to the present is a pointless task. It is, by design, unpoetic. So much of the work required to write poetry—or any art that is of value and that lasts—requires deep thought and time spent thinking and structuring.” Watch Ellams’ full conversation with our Features Editor Aalia Mehreen Ahmed using the link in our bio! Ellams was also one of four creative folks, featured in Entrepreneur Middle East’s Feb1, 2026 print edition, who share insights on how staying rooted in identity, morals, and community has helped them grow without losing authenticity — you can read the full article on Pg30 of our digital issue or on our website (both links in bio!) [📍: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature; 📽: Joel Amparo | Harton Otlang | BNC Publishing; 🎤: Aalia Mehreen Ahmed]