Fractured lyric is a poetic mode that disrupts linear narrative, coherent syntax, stable voice, or chronological time to convey psychological trauma, historical rupture, or diasporic dislocation. Employing techniques like collage, white space, multilingualism, non-sequiturs, and typographical experimentation, it rejects traditional lyric unity in favor of fragmentation that mirrors fractured subjectivity. Associated with postmodern and decolonial poetics (e.g., M. NourbeSe Philip, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha), the fractured lyric challenges the notion of a singular, coherent “I,” instead presenting identity as layered, contested, or incomplete. Its power lies not in resolution but in the enactment of breakage as both form and content.

Fractured lyric disrupts linear narrative, syntax, or voice to convey psychological or historical trauma. Common in postmodern and diasporic poetry (e.g., M. NourbeSe Philip). Techniques include collage, white space, multilingualism, and non-sequiturs. Students should ensure fragmentation serves theme—not just aesthetic. Ask: what is broken, and why? How does the form enact the content?