The importance of the poetry book in the digital age

An examination through the creation and curation of a printed poetry collection, together with other practice-based and wider research, of how far digital technology has influenced contemporary poetry and the status of the poetry book. Personal practice is considered and analysed and, from this, and research leading out from this, a more general survey provided of the impact of digital technology on the poet’s persona, the creation of the poems themselves and on their dissemination. These wider issues, and the practice-based research that underlies them, inform the specific consideration of the extent to which digital technology has affected the nature and importance of the single collection poetry book in the early part of the twenty-first century. The conclusion is drawn that, for the poet, and for contemporary poetry more generally, the importance of the printed poetry book is greater than ever and that digital technology has further increased its impact, vitality and relevance