The poetic line: Recent innovations

From Stéphane Mallarmé onwards, the parameters of the line have been manipulated in diverse ways by poets from William Carlos Williams to Charles Olson, Susan Howe and Lyn Hejinian to Michele Leggott, Alan Loney and others. Whether concentrating on the concept of the breath as a defining unit, harnessing a particular speech rhythm or responding to visual prompts – some of which reflect the internet age and new media – the poetic line is neither static nor redundant in contemporary practice. An exploration of poetic structure via the line still offers vital alternatives to prose, as well as sometimes being influenced by it. The use of the line is synonymous with the use of page space and this relationship is commented on by our contributors in diverse and individual ways.