concrete poetry

American  

noun

1. poetry in which effects are created by the physical arrangement of words in patterns or forms rather than by the use of traditional language structure.

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concrete poetry British  

noun

1. poetry in which the visual form of the poem is used to convey meaning

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Etymology

Origin of concrete poetry

1955–60, probably as translation of Portuguese poesia concreta or German konkrete Dichtung

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

concrete poetry

In the 1970s, Melchert’s work began to move in a more conceptual direction, influenced by concrete poetry and the work of composer John Cage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2023

Attempting to describe the range of topics of discussion within a single file using subject headings leads to complex chunks of text that read like concrete poetry.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 23, 2017

In a way I’m making concrete poetry, but my field is 2½ to 3 inches — that’s all the space I got.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 27, 2017

“WoVeN” suggests the complex structures of weaving and the playfulness of concrete poetry.

From New York Times ● Sep. 17, 2015

In concrete poetry, one can even discover the expression of jealousy between those interacting in the systematic domain of abstract phonetic languages, and those in the domain of ideograms.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai