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I've seen this term (and its variations such as "conceptual poetry") used a lot to describe works such as Christian Bök's Eunoia. I have a sense of what it means, but I've never seen a solid definition. Sources such as Wikipedia seem to be silent on the subject.

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migrated from literature.stackexchange.com Apr 26 '12 at 21:51

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It's writing where the concept of the piece is more important than the form of it.

This interview with Kenneth Goldsmith might be enlightening. Or you can read some of his own writing on the subject.

This quote, I think, sums the movement up quite well:

The best thing about conceptual poetry is that it doesn't need to be read. You don't have to read it. As a matter of fact, you can write books, and you don't even have to read them. My books, for example, are unreadable. All you need to know is the concept behind them. Here's every word I spoke for a week. Here's a year's worth of weather reports...and without ever having to read these things, you understand them.


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