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Intro
Blackout Poetry is a great poetry technique to help jumpstart new ideas for your writing projects.
By the end of this blog post, you will understand what blackout poetry is and how to create your own poems!
What is Blackout Poetry?
So, what is blackout poetry? Unique in its technique, this style of poetry creates poems through erasure.
According to This Ocean of Texts and their article “The History of Blackout Poetry,”
“Blackout poetry refers to any poem in which the author covers a majority of a source text in favor of leaving a handful of words exposed to form a poem.”
How It Works
First, a poet will choose a page from an outside text. Next, they will circle words or short phrases they like. Lastly, they’ll black out, by using some sort of writing utensil, the rest of the page, leaving only choice bits visible. Thus, the poet has created a new poem.Â
According to Poem Analysis’ article “Blackout Poetry,”
“Blackout poetry is a form of found poetry. This style of writing includes various ways in which authors take other writers’ words and rework them into their own verse. Unlike other forms of found poetry, this form requires a physical text to work off of. “
Backround of Blackout Poetry
Interestingly, blackout or redacted poetry started in the 18th century. During WW1, the art movement known as Dadaism arose as artists expressed their disapproval of violence and war.
Instead, this new movement focused on the ridiculousness of destruction by breaking down the old to form a new piece entirely. Blackout poetry is no different.Â
The first poet to have “created” this new movement was created when an unnamed friend of Ben Franklin used a magazine and, by circling short words, created puns and poetry through erasure. Â
Discover Blackout Poets
Among the various poets, some modern-day blackout poetry is especially of note for your discovery.
Among them are:
- Austin KleonÂ
- Megan Mauro
- Crystal Simone Smith
- John Carroll
- Lily Joy
Benefits of Creating Blackout Poetry
Really, creating blackout poems isn’t rocket science. However, it is a great way to get the creative juices flowing, even if you’re not a poet.Â
Other benefits include:
- Learning new vocabulary
- Expanding your ideas for a writing piece
- Finding new perspectives/characters to write in
- Pushing yourself to make connections between seemingly unlike things
- Creating something new out of already existing texts
- Accessible for all ages
- You can create any poem (coherent, rhyming, lists, etc.)
- It’s fun!
Create Your Own Blackout Poems Directions
Honestly, this poetry form is quite self-explanatory, and there are no wrong answers. Your poems could be extremely relatable for you, or just a fun list of new vocab words to use to create a whole new poem; the opportunities are endless.Â
Materials
So, if you wish to create your own blackout poetry, you won’t need many materials.Â
Materials include:
- Some text you don’t care to write in (or a magazine/printed-out page from a book if you don’t wish to alter the original)
- Utensils (one being a pencil and the other preferably inked, like a marker)
- Optional: coloring materials
Directions
Next, you can begin your new poem.
Note: I am using a page from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway, available to purchase. Â
1. Read through the page and (using a pencil) circle the words or short phrases that stand out to you
2. Next, reread the page, but only read the parts you circledÂ
3. Circle new words or erase previously circled ones, however you desire, until you are content with your poem
4. Using an inked utensil (like a Sharpie), black out or shade in the rest of your poem
- Poets have found many additional, creative ways to black out their pages (ex: white out, paint splashes, coffee stains, markers, etc.)Â
Optional: If you wish, you can even leave space to draw illustrations that fit with your poem (using coloring utensils).
5. Et voilà ! Here is my finished blackout poem, “The Flowers.” Easy, right? Have fun, and share your work with friends!
Conclusion
To conclude, blackout poetry is a great way to create new art out of outside texts. Writers “steal” or draw inspiration from other pieces of writing all the time, and blackout poetry is a great way to start generating new ideas.
Try out your own poem now!
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