Visual poetry is a poetic form that can be described as a poetic composition that utilizes images and other multimedia to tell a narrative or explain a subject. Poets who practice visual poetry typically write in a meditative, introspective, or reflective style. These poems are written to explore the human condition and to offer enlightenment about one's self, others, and life in general. Visual poetry was first identified by literary theorists in the late twentieth century as a unique genre on the verge of an explosion in popularity. In the past few years, visual poetry has grown in popularity, particularly as computers and multimedia have made more accessible the tools that poets use to create such works.
Visual poetry differs from more traditional forms of poetry because it presents itself in both text and images. Several literary critics have described visual poetry as a kind of progress of abstract expressionism where non-representational, concrete imagery and verbal content predominate but where the mediums of communication are almost limitless. Some forms of visual poetry draw inspiration from existing poetic materials such as paintings, collages, or folk art. Others simply take existing texts, combine them with images, or structure the whole poem in a new way. Still others may employ a number of these tools and genres to form their own unique poetic creations.
There are also types of visual poetry that use non-concrete elements. Non-concrete poems attempt to communicate deeper emotions through the arrangement of visual components. A perfect example of this would be a poem about love. The poem could tell the story of two lovers meeting, falling in love, and then falling apart again. However, it might also illustrate the struggle of two lovers to reconnect after the first occurred.
Many professional poets have created visual poetry. In addition to working extensively with the written word, many of these poets have also produced their poetry in the form of pictures or photographs. Some of these pictures can be found on the Internet or printed out in magazines and newspapers. As a result, visual poetry has taken off in the recent past.