Net-poetry is a development of net.art, involving poetry. This kind of experimental art was born in several different cities and countries around 1995.

Short history

Net-poetry was born in the context of net-art and digital art avant-garde in various countries in the early 90s. It is generally accepted that the simple publication of poems, visual poems or art images in a web site can not be considered Net-poetry, which is connected with the concept of "network", openness, and interactivity.

Poetry hypertext and interactive environments online

Some pioneer artists created different kind of net-poetry, as interactive environment on line including animated text and digital poetry: Ana Maria Uribe, Reiner Strasser (interactive video-sound poetry), Jim Andrews (vispo.com), Ted Warnell aka Poem by Nari (warnell.com). Other artists intend net-poetry as interactive hypertext poetry/narration that can be adapted for Internet, examples being Deena Larsen (Marble Spring, interactive poetry hypertext in CD ROM, 1993, Disappearing Rein, 1999), Robert Kendall (Frame Work, 1999, a Study in Shades, 2000), Mendi Obadike (Keeping Up Appearances, a hypertextimonial, 2001) and others.

Karenina.it (1998) was an Italian and international net-poetry project, conceived as a virtual happening and online network of experimental poets and artists who were active online in the 90s. Participants included historical performance artists, visual poets, theorists, sound poets, literary and art critics, such as Mirella Bentivoglio, Tomaso Binga, Julien Blaine, Caterina Davinio, founder of the project, Marco Maria Gazzano, Philadelpho Menezes, Eugenio Miccini, Massimo Mori, Francesco Muzzioli, Clemente Padin, Lamberto Pignotti and new media artists.^[1][2][3][4] Karenina.it collaborated in participative projects in the context of the Venice Biennale.

Net-poetry at the 49th Venice Biennale, 2001

A net-poetry event (the online happening "Parallel-Action-Bunker") was featured in the Biennale di Venezia in 2001. It was produced and curated by the digital artist and poet Caterina Davinio in the context of Bunker Poetico, a collaborative installation by the artist Marco Nereo Rotelli which involved 1,000 international poets.^[5] The virtual happening “Azione-Parellala-Bunker" (Parallel Action-Bunker) was held online contemporaneously with real performances at Orsogrill delle Artiglierie, a real space of the Venice Biennale.^[6] With this event, a relationship was created between real and virtual poetry events – a new connective and collective network of poetry, based on communication, and similar to some events and happenings organized by Fluxus, e-mail art and relational art.

Other net-poetry events

Other net-poetry events, created by Davinio in collaboration with an open network of international artists and poets, were:

• Global Poetry (21–27 March 2002): a multi-located event with simultaneous performances, screenings and poetry readings in Italia, USA, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Russia, Germany, France and other countries. 122 poets and artists were involved and websites and video documents were created. In October 2003 this project was published on the official website of the 50th Venice Biennale, in the context of the online exhibition BlogWork-The NetWork is the ArtWork (project curated by ASAC, Venice). "Global Poetry" was also included in the Rhizome Net.art database (NYC – USA).
• GATES (July 4 – December 31, 2003): a net-poetry event created by Caterina Davinio and dedicated to Pierre Restany. 150 international artists were involved in a multi-located performance, with installations, screenings and poetry readings in Italy, USA, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay, Russia, Germany, France, Spain, Japan, Morocco, and other countries. In October 2003, GATES was featured in the official website of the 50th Venice Biennale, in the online project BlogWork-The NetWork is the ArtWork (50th Venice Biennale – ASAC).^[7][8][9]
• Virtual Island: a net-poetry happening online, created by Caterina Davinio in 2005; it was included in Isola della Poesia, a collateral exhibition of the 51st Venice Biennale. 500 poets were involved. Isola della poesia was a real installation by the artist and architect Marco Nereo Rotelli on San Secondo Island, in Venice. This event in Venice was curated by the art critic Achille Bonito Oliva. The real installation had a simultaneous virtual space online called Virtual Island, created by Caterina Davinio in collaboration with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica,^[10][11] where poets from around the world could write poems during the Venice Biennale. The participants included emerging and established poets, such as Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Fernanda Pivano, Adunis.^[12] The opening of the exhibition "Isola della poesia" - with poetry readings by international poets - was organized on board of the ship "Il Doge", which navigated in the Venice Lagoon during the Venice Biennale opening (video document).
• The First Poetry Space Shuttle Landing on Second Life, in the 2009 Venice Biennale, first interactive poetry installation in the virtual world Second Life, involving interactive spaces on YouTube, Facebook, and web sites.^[13]
• Network Poetico, poetry readings from around the world using a Skype video call connected with San Servolo Island, in the context of the 2009 Venice Biennale.^[14][15][16]