Poetatult

Poetatult is a term used in contemporary poetry to describe a class of poems that foreground the act of poetic creation itself. Coined in online poetry circles in the early 2020s, poetatult is commonly treated as a portmanteau of poet and totality, signaling a focus on the poem as both process and artifact rather than solely as finished product. The term is used to categorize works that interrogate authorship, form, and the relationship between reader and text.

The exact origin of poetatult is unclear, but it began appearing in online forums, small-press zines, and social media discussions as a way to describe self-referential and meta-poetic practices. It has since circulated in scholarly blog posts and weekend workshops, where editors and teachers describe poetatult works as engaging with poetry’s own boundaries.

Typical features include self-referential narration, meta-commentary on form and technique, and intertextual dialogue with other poems or genres. Poetatult often employs structural experimentation, glosses, footnotes, or annotations that blur the line between the poem and its apparatus. Digital and constraint-based methods—such as micro-poems, sequences, or embedded code-like elements—are common, as are fragmented or non-linear structures that foreground reading as an act of interpretation.

Reception of poetatult is mixed. Proponents view it as a rigorous exploration of poetry’s limits and a way to invite critical engagement. Critics worry that the meta-focus can become gimmicky or obscure emotional resonance. It remains a developing label within experimental and digital poetry communities, with no single canonical form.

See also: meta-poetry, self-referential poetry, experimental poetry, digital poetry.