Derrida critiques logocentrism for seeking a stable center. In poetry, a logocentric work attempts to capture an absolute truth or final meaning. However, much modern poetry challenges this, embracing ambiguity and the play of signifiers. Poetry becomes a site where the logocentric illusion is deconstructed, revealing that meaning is deferred and provisional, existing in the interplay of words.

Logocentrism is a term used by Jacques Derrida to describe the Western metaphysical tradition's belief in a central, foundational truth, or "logos," which serves as the origin and guarantee of all meaning. This tradition privileges speech over writing, presence over absence, and seeks a final, fixed meaning. Derrida's deconstruction aims to challenge this by showing that meaning is never fully present but is constantly deferred through the play of signifiers. In poetry, a logocentric work might attempt to capture a single, absolute truth. However, much modern and postmodern poetry embraces ambiguity and the play of language, questioning the possibility of a stable center. For the poet, this term encourages a critical awareness of the philosophical assumptions behind poetic language and the inevitable slipperiness of meaning.