ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the concept of ‘concrete’ as both metaphor and materiality. Concrete poetry is shown to have its roots in the building of the city of Brasilia, with the Noigandres group of poets borrowing from the language of Costa’s ‘Pilot Plan’ manifesto for their own poetic statement. This relationship between concrete poetry and architecture is then demonstrated inversely, through the work of Joaquim Cardozo who was an engineer working on Brasilia but also a poet who created visual poetry. The chapter ends with a focus on British concrete poetry in relation to materiality and with a specific focus on how new visual poetry of the 21st century is finding new ways to interconnect with buildings, primarily through the use of new digital technologies.
