Bring Poetry Alive
Concrete Poetry
Understanding Concrete
Poetry
Learn about the art form concrete poetry by
examining and responding to Alex Selenitsch’s
8 monotones collection (1970).
2. Look carefully at the image of Alex
Selenitsch’s Monotone (1970a) on your
copy of the Concrete Poetry Images Sheet.

What do you need?

Concrete Poetry Images Sheet

pen

dictionary.
Take a minute to think about what you
see. Write down what you see in this
picture, then find a partner and share
your response.
Let’s explore
1. You have watched Alex Selenitsch talk
about his art practice in the video and seen
various examples of concrete poetry. In
your own words write about your
understanding of concrete poetry.
3. Join with your classmates and teacher in a
discussion about Monotone (1970a).

Think about the elements, the
arrangement of the letters on the page
and the repetition of the word.

What else do you see?

How might you read this poem?

What do your eyes first see when you
look at the word?
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Bring Poetry Alive
Concrete Poetry
4. Look up the words ‘monotony’ and
‘monotone’ in the dictionary. Write down the
meanings in your own words.
5. Look at the artwork again. Think about the
meaning of the words ‘monotone’ and
‘monotony’. With your partner discuss how
the artwork Monotone (1970a) visually
shows the meaning of these words.
6. Discuss your answers with your classmates
to compare responses.
7. Look at the other three examples of Alex
Selenitsch’s collection 8 monotones on your
Concrete Poetry Images Sheet.
8. With your partner, compare the different
ways the artist has arranged the word
‘monotone’ on the page and communicated
meaning. Note your findings.
9. Which example do you like best? Give
reasons for your answer.
10. Discuss your answers with your
classmates.
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© The Song Room 2013. Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/
Bring Poetry Alive
Concrete Poetry
11. Now that you have thought carefully about
the 8 monotones collection, go back and reread your response to the statement: In
your own words write about your
understanding of concrete poetry.
12. How has your understanding changed?
What have you learned?

How do artists communicate meaning in a
concrete poem?

How could these works be interpreted in a
different way?

What is similar about the artworks you have
looked at?

What is different about the artworks you
have looked at?

Does the use of colour change what we
think about this artwork? For example,
imagine if it was a vivid green.

Does the font chosen for this artwork add to
our understanding of it? For example,
imagine if it used a curly or decorative font.
13. With your classmates, discuss your answer
to the above question and the questions
following.
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© The Song Room 2013. Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution, Non Commercial ShareAlike 3.0 licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/au/