Blackout poetry is a unique literary artform that creates new poems and meaning from existing texts. The concept is straightforward – take any text, whether an old novel, magazine, or even road sign, and redact words with a black marker. What remains becomes a found poem distilled from the source material.
Part of blackout poetry’s appeal is how it lets anyone find poetry in unexpected places. You don’t have to be a talented wordsmith to craft a blackout poem. Simply scan a text, manually blacking out words or using digital tools, until only an interesting poem remains. The selected words present themselves in new, surprising arrangements.
Blackout poetry is also a powerful critical thinking exercise. It pushes readers to closely analyze a text to determine which words carry the most meaning. By redacting language, you reveal the hidden poetical essence buried in the original. The remaining poem may convey a very different tone or perspective than the full text intended.
Educators often use blackout techniques to engage students with analyzing literature. Students can create their own blackout poems from classic texts as a playful way to distill themes and literary devices. The hands-on process sticks with them better than standard annotation or explication.
Blackout poetry is endlessly variable. You can create erased poems from a single page or passage. Or ambitiously redact entire novels, newspaper archives, or other collected works. This variability keeps the practice fresh and challenging.
If you want to experiment with this compelling poetic form, simply grab a text meaningful to you. Scan for words and phrases that jump out, tell a story, or convey emotion. Blackout the rest, and shape what remains into a found poem.
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G.S. Wright 