The concept at the heart of it all, the word as visual image, was far from new. In the early 20th century, Guillaume Apollinaire constructed complex visual collages from letters, words and phrases in Calligrammes, exploring spatial relationships and offering multiple non-linear readings of the text. Similarly at that time, the Futurists, Dadaists and Cubists emphasized semiotics and materiality. Earlier still, the optical poems of the Baroque period made visual forms, such as a labyrinth, from lines of text. An example from 1637 presents an early form of interactive writing. A wedding poem, whose lines take the form of a drinking goblet requires the reader to turn either the paper or their head around in order to follow the text, the resultant dizzy feeling recalling the sensation of having drunk a goblet of wine.
In concrete poetry, however, rather than the visual element being illustrative or incidental, the physicality of language instructs and indeed constitutes the structural form. Poets would actively communicate the space between words and letters, manipulate typography, and introduce design elements borrowed from popular culture.
In concrete poetry, however, rather than the visual element being illustrative or incidental, the physicality of language instructs and indeed constitutes the structural form. Poets would actively communicate the space between words and letters, manipulate typography, and introduce design elements borrowed from popular culture.
