"Concrete poems are different from regular poems; in fact they’re a lot more playful, as you might guess from the title of this book. What are they, you ask?
Well, a concrete poem can be as simple as a single word, like STOWAWAY from Robert Carola. That word became a poem because of the unusual way the type is placed on the page. A concrete poem can also be a selection of words arranged into a particular shape, like “Eskimo Pie” by John Hollander. The arrangement of letters or words on the page, the typefaces chosen, and the way space is used, add meaning to the poem beyond that contained in the actually words. Look at Robert Froman’s “Easy Diver,” for example, where the poem is the pigeon. Concrete poems are often hard to read aloud (try “Crickets” from Aram Saroyan) although sometimes they are irresistible, like Helen Chasin’s fourteen-line “ Joy Sonnet in a Random Universe” – sh-boom, sh-boo!
Finally, these visually arresting poems are accompanied by Chris Raschka’s stunning illustrations, which have a poetry all their own. So, turn the page for a dazzling, bewitching tour of thirty concrete poems from some of the world’s finest visual poets and prepare for A Poke in the I.”—Notes from the Editor
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