Eugen Gomringer

vom vers zur konstellation

«[Concrete poetry] constitute a reality in itself and not a poem about something or other.»

Abstract poetry can be achieved in most diverse ways. Herein, however, also lies the dilemma: how can it be plausibly understood? Eugen Gomringer already reacted to this dilemma when he began to conceive his first concrete poems. His manifesto «From Line to Constellation – Purpose and Form of a New Poetry» was first published in 1954, with revised editions to follow.
In his work, he ascribes concrete poetry to the contemporary requirements of technological-scientific progress and the needs of modern society. According to Gomringer, present-day people want communication to be fast. Catchphrase and headline coined his everyday life right down to its visual aspects. And such concision and memorability demanded, similarly to concrete art, a new visual and graphic form of expression, he says. The resulting small print, typography and economic use of words were therefore far more suitable than free verse. The «new poem» should be «simple» and could be perceived «visually as a whole as well as in its parts. It becomes an object (...) its concern is with brevity and consciousness.» Accordingly and most likely, it was to be realised with the term «constellation», coined by the French poet (1842–1898). The constellation, so Gomringer, as a shaped word order as well as playful force field allowed for innumerable linguistic combinations and variations. Concrete poetry «constitutes a reality in itself and not a poem about something or other.»

(Severin Perrig, trans. by Simon Froehling)

Translation of title: from line to constellation

NZZ, Zürich 1954

ISBN: 3-901190-19-8