P[a]ra[pra]xis: towards genuine realtime ‘audiopoetry’

P[a]ra[pra]xis is an ongoing collaborative project incorporating a two-piece software package which explores human relations to language through dynamic sound and text production. Incorporating an exploration of the potential functions and limitations of the ‘sign’ and the intrusions of the Unconscious into the linguistic utterance via parapraxes, or ‘Freudian slips’, our software utilises realtime subject response to automaticallygenerated changes in a narrative of their own writing to create music. This paper considers the relative paucity of truly interactive realtime text and audio works and provides an account of current and future potential for the simultaneous production of realtime poetry and electronic music through the P[a]ra[pra]xis software. It also provides the basis for a demonstration session in which we hope to show users how the program works, discuss possibilities for different applications of the software, and collect data for future collaborative work.