Poetry and urban space: The Phalène as a poetic collective practice of placemaking and commonality

Abstract

The article examines the Phalène or Poetic Act, a mode of poetry as collective action formulated by the poet Godofredo Iommi. The authors analyse how the Phalène opened a creative heritage from the early experiences carried out by Iommi in Europe during the 1960s to the current poetic endeavours of the School of Architecture and Design PUCV in Valparaíso, Chile. Through analysing the Phalène, the article provides new perspectives on the relationship between poetry and urban space. About this relationship, the authors propose the Phalène as a poetic act of placemaking in which the ephemeral presence of the uttered word unleashes ludic interactions in the participants provoking the construction of commonality and the resignification of the place.