Intellectual Property is a series of long-form poems that propose the law of intellectual property as poetry’s dark twin — both forms task language with the burden of shaping the intangible, and both forms consider human ingenuity to be of infinite value. Weaving through a series of landmark disputes, the poems apply the laws of intellectual property to our private lives and seek to determine what constitutes an idea, and whether we can ever own one. Language’s brutal extreme is usually reserved for the law — this pamphlet explores what happens when it infiltrates poetry. Running from the Leibniz-Newton Calculus Controversy, to the Son of Sam Law, the poems deftly position the cut of the law against the inner workings of a teenage boy, and young pregnant woman. These figures’ relationships and choices pivot between the juridical and the private.

Aea Varfis-van Warmelo is a Greek-British poet and writer based in London. She writes about deceit, the apocalypse and other good things. Her work has appeared in The White Review, The National Poetry Library, The Rialto, Tolka, and elsewhere. She was shortlisted for The White Review’s Poet’s Prize, was an inaugural member of the Southbank Centre’s New Poets Collective and recently graduated from The Royal College of Art’s Writing MA.

Commissioned, published and distributed by Goldsmiths CCA, London as part of Episodes, an ongoing series of solo presentations at Goldsmiths CCA, spanning installations, screenings, discursive events and publications, that provides an experimental platform for emergent practices.

Limited edition print run of 350
Softcover, 47 pp.
230 x 150 mm