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

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

The artists juxtapose images with concrete poetry to create image-text intersections that reveal privileged looking.

From The Guardian • Dec. 11, 2019

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

They called it 0 to 9, after the numeral paintings of Jasper Johns, visual works that could be construed as a form of concrete poetry, and they produced it as a cheap mimeograph.

From New York Times • Jun. 30, 2016

Other visual sign systems transcend the limits of literacy: concrete poetry, happening, animation, performance games that lead to interactive video, hypermedia or interactive multimedia, virtual reality, and global networks.

From The Civilization of Illiteracy by Nadin, Mihai