In 1953, Sidney Rosenthal of Richmond Hill, New York, invented the first marker pen, which he called the 'Magic Marker'. He placed a felt tip on the end of a small, stout bottle of permanent ink, creating a tool that produced bold, saturated marks. This invention marked the popularization of the marker as a writing and drawing instrument, distinct from the more precise felt-tip pens that came before.

The Magic Marker and its descendants offered poets and artists a new way to interact with the page, with broad, colorful, and expressive lines. This tool became particularly important for the development of concrete poetry and visual poetry, where the visual arrangement of words on the page is as important as their meaning. The marker allowed for a more graphic and bold approach to lettering, influencing the visual aesthetic of poetry in the mid-to-late 20th century.