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Conceptualisms: The Anthology of Prose, Poetry, Visual, Found, E- & Hybrid Writing as Contemporary Art
A wide-ranging anthology of experimental writing—prose, poetry, and hybrid—from its most significant practitioners and innovators
A variety of names have been used to describe fiction, poetry, and hybrid writing that explore new forms and challenges mainstream traditions. Those phrases include experimental, conceptual, avant-garde, hybrid, surfiction, fusion, radical, slip-stream, avant-pop, postmodern, self-conscious, innovative, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E writing, alternative, and anti- or new literature. The Anthology of Prose, Poetry, Visual, Found, E- & Hybrid Writing as Contemporary Art is the first major anthology of writing that offers readers an overview of this other tradition as it lives in the early decades of the 21st century.
Featuring over 100 pieces from more than 90 authors, this anthology offers a plethora of aesthetics and approaches to a wide variety subjects. Editor Steve Tomasula has gathered poems, prose, and hybrid pieces that all challenge our understanding of what literature means. Intended as a collection of the most exciting and bold literary work being made today, Tomasula has put a spotlight on the many possibilities available to writers and readers wishing for a glimpse of literature’s future.
Readers will recognize authors who have shaped contemporary writing, as among them Lydia Davis, Charles Bernstein, Jonathan Safran Foer, Shelley Jackson, Nathaniel Mackey, David Foster Wallace, and Claudia Rankine. Even seasoned readers will find authors, and responses to the canon, not yet encountered. Conceptualisms is a book of ideas for writers, teachers and scholars, as well as readers who wonder how many ways literature can live.
The text features headnotes to chapters on themes such as sound writing, electronic literature, found text, and other forms, offering accessible introductions for readers new to this work. An online companion presents statements about the work and biographies of the authors in addition to audio, video, and electronic writing that can’t be presented in print. Visit www.conceptualisms.info to read more.
A variety of names have been used to describe fiction, poetry, and hybrid writing that explore new forms and challenges mainstream traditions. Those phrases include experimental, conceptual, avant-garde, hybrid, surfiction, fusion, radical, slip-stream, avant-pop, postmodern, self-conscious, innovative, L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E writing, alternative, and anti- or new literature. The Anthology of Prose, Poetry, Visual, Found, E- & Hybrid Writing as Contemporary Art is the first major anthology of writing that offers readers an overview of this other tradition as it lives in the early decades of the 21st century.
Featuring over 100 pieces from more than 90 authors, this anthology offers a plethora of aesthetics and approaches to a wide variety subjects. Editor Steve Tomasula has gathered poems, prose, and hybrid pieces that all challenge our understanding of what literature means. Intended as a collection of the most exciting and bold literary work being made today, Tomasula has put a spotlight on the many possibilities available to writers and readers wishing for a glimpse of literature’s future.
Readers will recognize authors who have shaped contemporary writing, as among them Lydia Davis, Charles Bernstein, Jonathan Safran Foer, Shelley Jackson, Nathaniel Mackey, David Foster Wallace, and Claudia Rankine. Even seasoned readers will find authors, and responses to the canon, not yet encountered. Conceptualisms is a book of ideas for writers, teachers and scholars, as well as readers who wonder how many ways literature can live.
The text features headnotes to chapters on themes such as sound writing, electronic literature, found text, and other forms, offering accessible introductions for readers new to this work. An online companion presents statements about the work and biographies of the authors in addition to audio, video, and electronic writing that can’t be presented in print. Visit www.conceptualisms.info to read more.
540 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 15, 2022
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 24, 2026
Conceptualisms stands as one of the most ambitious anthologies of experimental writing in recent decades. At 540 pages and featuring over 100 pieces from more than 90 contributors, it does not merely collect avant-garde work it maps an evolving literary ecosystem.
Under the editorial direction of Steve Tomasula, the anthology reframes experimental writing not as fringe production but as contemporary art practice. The collection spans prose, poetry, visual text, found material, electronic literature, and hybrid forms bringing together writers associated with L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry, postmodern experimentation, conceptual art, and digital literature.
The strength of the anthology lies in its breadth and intellectual scaffolding. Headnotes introduce thematic clusters such as sound writing and electronic literature, offering accessible entry points for readers new to conceptual practice while still rewarding scholars and seasoned experimentalists. The inclusion of an online companion extends the project beyond print, reinforcing the anthology’s argument that literature now lives across platforms.
Writers like Ashbery, Bernstein, Davis, Rankine, and Wallace situate the book within an established avant-garde lineage, while lesser-known voices push its future-facing mandate. The result is not simply a collection, but an institutional statement about where literature has been and where it may be headed.
Conceptualisms is particularly valuable for:
• University literature and creative writing programs
• MFA workshops
• Contemporary art departments
• Scholars of postmodern and experimental literature
• Writers seeking formal innovation
It is less a casual reading experience and more an archive of possibility a living document of literature as conceptual practice.
Under the editorial direction of Steve Tomasula, the anthology reframes experimental writing not as fringe production but as contemporary art practice. The collection spans prose, poetry, visual text, found material, electronic literature, and hybrid forms bringing together writers associated with L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E poetry, postmodern experimentation, conceptual art, and digital literature.
The strength of the anthology lies in its breadth and intellectual scaffolding. Headnotes introduce thematic clusters such as sound writing and electronic literature, offering accessible entry points for readers new to conceptual practice while still rewarding scholars and seasoned experimentalists. The inclusion of an online companion extends the project beyond print, reinforcing the anthology’s argument that literature now lives across platforms.
Writers like Ashbery, Bernstein, Davis, Rankine, and Wallace situate the book within an established avant-garde lineage, while lesser-known voices push its future-facing mandate. The result is not simply a collection, but an institutional statement about where literature has been and where it may be headed.
Conceptualisms is particularly valuable for:
• University literature and creative writing programs
• MFA workshops
• Contemporary art departments
• Scholars of postmodern and experimental literature
• Writers seeking formal innovation
It is less a casual reading experience and more an archive of possibility a living document of literature as conceptual practice.
Displaying 1 of 1 review