"Known to the ancient Greeks as technopaigneia and to the Romans as carmina figurata, visual poetry has a long and fascinating history. A popular genre during the Early Middle Ages and the Renaissance, it fell into disrepute during the neo-Classical age and was neglected until the beginning of the twentieth century. Around 1914, it experienced a dramatic rebirth and began to interest poets and painters, who were intrigued by its endless possibilities and who have experimented with it ever since. Far from frivolous playthings, modern visual poems represent serious experiments. Together with other members of the avant-grade, the visual poets sought to restructure the basic vision of reality that they inherited from their predecessors. This statement describes contemporary visual poets as well who, like their earlier colleagues, strive to say things that are more meaningful in ways that are more meaningful."--BOOK JACKET.