
One such, the UNPRECEDENTED project, shared pages of the Decameron, a medieval text about the Black Plague, and used it as a basis for creating art during the height of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It’s incredibly cathartic to recreate the text in that way, which is why blackout poetry has been used as a basis for many community projects. It’s almost utopian in the sense that the new poem can push itself into the ideal. By using blackout poetry on an oppressive or outdated text, the poet can use the words of that text to reinvent the world, creating instead a text that they prefer.

BLACK OUT POETRY FREE
If you do write a blackout poem and publish it on here, please feel free to tag me - I’d love to read your work! Why Blackout Poetry?īlackout poetry can be revolutionary because it allows the poet to reshape the language of whatever text they want. Your audience might be surprised at how you transformed it! It’s amazing what a poet can craft with words and a pen, even if those words were intended for some other purpose. Reread and share your work.Īdd any finishing details you’d like, then share your piece! Readers will be amazed at how succinctly you piece together far-off words towards your message. It’s all up to you, and whichever medium you choose will add to the final piece. Traditionally this is done with a Sharpie or another similar marker, but get creative! You could paint, use crayons or colored pencils, cover the page in stickers, or rub mud all over it. Choose your words and cross out all the rest! Your final poem must be informed and inspired by the base text, so make sure that even if you don’t entirely understand it, you have an idea of its themes. If you’re nervous about taking a pen to your text, try circling the words you want to keep in pencil or highlighter first.

The poetry writing process can be done online, with Photoshop or Google Drawings, but I personally like the tactile sensation of doing it on paper. Here’s a quick list to get you inspired: newspaper headlines, a song, an existing poem that you love/hate, a YA novel, an instruction manual, a myth, a blog post. How do you create Blackout Poetry? Choose a text.Īs mentioned above, it can be anything. Children are starting this spontaneity and permanence. It reads: Poetry found the poet creating destruction.
