Distributed narrative in poetry refers to a compositional strategy where the story or thematic progression is not centralized in a single speaker or linear sequence but is instead dispersed across multiple voices, fragments, perspectives, or textual layers; this technique, common in modernist and postmodern poetry, challenges conventional storytelling by requiring the reader to actively reconstruct meaning from discontinuous elements—examples include Ezra Pound’s “The Cantos,” which weaves historical, mythological, and personal fragments, or Claudia Rankine’s “Citizen,” which uses prose poetry, visual art, and second-person address to distribute experiences of racial microaggression.

Narrative distributed across multiple sites, voices, or textual locations. Related to polyvocal and fragmented narration. Postmodern technique. Compare with linear narrative and single narrator.