Verb displacement as it relates to prose, is a technique used to impart a lyrical or poetic feel to a phrase, sentence, or paragraph. This technique finds particular expression in minimalist literature.

Specifically, verb displacement involves only those verbs that can be displaced by the word "is" or its past tense "was." For instance, in this excerpt from the novel For Whom the Bell Tolls, instead of writing "He died in April," Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...

 displaces the verb "died" with "is," and thereby creates a more lyrical effect:

"Kashkin," Robert Jordan said."That would be Kashkin."

"Yes," said Pablo. "It was a very rare name. Something like that.
What became of him?"

"He is dead since April."

Origins

The term as it relates to prose in literature (as opposed to poetry or linguistics) was first introduced in 2011 by Tom Heehler, author of The Well-Spoken Thesaurus

The Well-Spoken Thesaurus

The Well-Spoken Thesaurus by Tom Heehler , is an American style guide and speaking aid. The Chicago Tribune calls The Well-Spoken Thesaurus "a celebration of the spoken word." The book has also been reviewed in the Winnipeg Free Press, and by bloggers at the Fayetteville Observer, and the Seattle...

, to describe one of the ways in which minimalist writers are able—consciously or otherwise—to enhance simple language without increasing complexity.