Found poetry

Definition

Found poetry is a literary form that takes existing texts, like newspaper articles, street signs, or conversations, and reworks them into a poem. This type of poetry emphasizes the beauty and significance of everyday language and shows how poetry can emerge from the world around us, transforming mundane phrases into something artistic and meaningful.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Found poetry can involve any form of text, including fiction, non-fiction, or even non-verbal material like visual art.
2. This poetic form challenges traditional notions of authorship by blurring the lines between original creation and recontextualization.
3. Found poems often highlight social issues by drawing attention to overlooked or marginalized voices within existing texts.
4. The process of creating found poetry encourages readers and writers to see familiar words and phrases in a new light, fostering creativity and critical thinking.
5. Prominent poets like A. R. Ammons and Joe Brainard have utilized found poetry to explore themes such as identity and cultural commentary.

Review Questions

• How does found poetry challenge traditional ideas of authorship in literature?
  • Found poetry challenges traditional ideas of authorship by taking pre-existing texts and recontextualizing them into a new artistic form. This approach raises questions about originality and creativity since the original authors are often unknown or not directly involved in the poem's creation. By using snippets from various sources, found poets emphasize that language itself can be a collaborative entity, reflecting broader cultural narratives rather than just individual expression.
• Discuss the ways found poetry can engage with social issues through its choice of source material.
  • Found poetry engages with social issues by selecting source materials that reflect societal concerns or marginalized voices. For instance, poets may use excerpts from news articles about injustice or public speeches on inequality to create a powerful commentary. By transforming these texts into poetic forms, found poetry can amplify the original message and provoke thought about the underlying social dynamics at play, making it a tool for both artistic expression and activism.
• Evaluate the impact of found poetry on modern experimental poetry forms and its relevance in contemporary literature.
  • Found poetry has significantly impacted modern experimental poetry forms by promoting innovative approaches to language and text. It encourages poets to experiment with various materials beyond traditional literary sources, which aligns with the broader movements of postmodernism and conceptual art. In contemporary literature, found poetry remains relevant as it reflects our increasingly mediated world, where language is constantly repurposed through digital platforms and everyday interactions, allowing new voices and perspectives to emerge in poetic discourse.

Related terms

Cut-up technique:

A method of rearranging existing text by cutting it up and reassembling it to create new meaning, often associated with the works of William S. Burroughs.

Collage: An artistic technique that combines various materials, such as paper, photographs, and other media, to create a new piece of art; it parallels found poetry in using pre-existing elements to generate new work.

Textual poaching: The act of taking existing texts and repurposing them in a creative way, often to critique or reinterpret the original meaning.