Navigatorpoet

Navigatorpoet is a term used in contemporary art and digital poetry to describe works that fuse navigation, cartography, and verse. It may refer to a persona, a project, or a body of work that treats movement and geographic space as poetic material. The label is applied variably by multiple artists rather than a single canonical figure, making it more a descriptor of form than of a single author.

Practices associated with navigatorpoet commonly combine maps and poetry. Geolocation techniques may render poems as GPS-triggered texts that appear at specific coordinates, while interactive maps plot lines of verse along routes. Other works embed poetry in public space through QR codes on signage, audio guides on transport networks, or generative pieces that respond to route data or environmental inputs. Imagery frequently centers on travel, navigation instruments, sea voyages, and urban exploration.

Origins of the term lie in online experimental poetry and digital cartography communities that explore the relationship between movement and language. The approach invites readers to become navigators, discovering poetry by moving through spaces or digital interfaces rather than by reading in a fixed page order.

Reception to navigatorpoet disperses across audiences. Supporters view it as expanding the spatial dimensions of poetry and encouraging engagement with landscapes. Critics caution that the form can be opaque or require technical literacy, potentially limiting accessibility.