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Sound Poetry

Lyric and Short Poetic Forms

Sound poetry is an artistic form bridging literary and musical composition in which the phonetic aspects of human speech are foregrounded over conventional meaning and syntax, sometimes described as verse without words. By definition it is intended primarily for performance rather than silent reading.

Facts
Partially Attested
Place of Origin
Zurich, Switzerland 1
The quoted sentence names the Cabaret Voltaire venue and the year 1916 but not the city by name; Cabaret Voltaire was located in Zurich, Switzerland.
Notable Example
Ursonate by Kurt Schwitters (1922-1932) 1
Defining Trait
Poetry in which the phonetic aspects of human speech are foregrounded over conventional semantic and syntactic meaning, described as verse without words 1
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Sound poetry - Wikipedia
  • Early examples section, Hugo Ball sentence
    Hugo Ball performed a piece of sound poetry in a reading at Cabaret Voltaire in 1916
  • Early examples section, Kurt Schwitters sentence
    Kurt Schwitters' Ursonate (1922-32, 'Primal Sonata') is a particularly well known early example
  • Lead paragraph, first sentence
    Sound poetry is an artistic form bridging literary and musical composition, in which the phonetic aspects of human speech are foregrounded instead of more conventional semantic and syntactic values; 'verse without words'.
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