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Gesture poem

Genre
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A poetic genre that foregrounds physical movement, gesture, or embodied performance as central to its meaning and expression.

Detailed Definition
Gesture poem is a minimalist composition that prioritizes physical or performative action over verbal content—such as a poem consisting of a single hand movement, breath, or spatial arrangement—drawing from performance art and phenomenology; in written form, it may use sparse notation, diagrams, or instructions to evoke embodied presence, emphasizing poetry as an event rather than a text.
Example
Example in poetry:
Gesture poem: "[Hand opens, palm up—empty]"; "[Fist clenches, then releases—wind]"; "[Fingers trace air—writing nothing]"; "[Shoulders shrug—question mark]"
Additional Notes
Gesture poem emphasizes physical movement or bodily action as poetic content; often performed or scored—consider choreography or spatial arrangement in presentation.
Also Known As
Movement poem Physical verse Body poetry Kinetic composition
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