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Richard Kostelanetz (b. 1940 in New York City, New York, USA, lives and works in New York City) is an American artist and writer. He has worked with diverse media, with an extensive bibliography of critical publications and acclaimed articles. Of anarcho-libertarian ideals, Kostelanez was a significant figure in the New York avant-garde scene, working as a critic and editor of numerous anthologies. In 1970, he published Manifestos, followed by the experimental novel In the Beginning, entirely centered on the letters of the alphabet. Both publications paved the way for varied research on visual poetry, focusing on the linguistic potential of number sequences and visual alliterations, especially aimed at overturning traditional structures of comprehension and reading. Thoroughly exploring the expressive potential of technologies and innovative media, he has worked with tape recordings, computer installations, audiovisual pieces, and literary holographs. Kostelanez published numerous critical texts, such as The End of Intelligent Writing: Literary Politics in America (1974), A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes (1993), and SoHo: The Rise and Fall of an Artists’ Colony (2003). Kostelanez's “Wordship” is a 7,000-square-foot space in Brooklyn including an exceptional holding of rare books, films, audio recordings, drawings, visual poems, and artworks accessible to the public as a proper bookstore once a week. Kostelanez has received countless awards including the Guggenheim Foundation (1967), the Fund for Investigative Journalism (1981), the National Endowment for the Arts (ten individual awards through 1991), and the Pollock-Krasner Foundation (2001).