I posted a photo last week, and though I don't usually participate each time, I had a lot of fun trying out a new poetic technique this week that I wanted to share.
I've been following along with the daily poetry posts in the Blog Tour, and a few days ago, The Picky Girl shared a very fun event that her university writing centre held in celebration of Poetry Month: a Blackout Poetry Party!
What is blackout poetry? Popularized by artist Austin Kleon, it is a technique which takes an existing text -- a newspaper, magazine, book page, etc. -- and removes words, via Sharpie, to create a poem. I thought that I'd give this a try, and since I had a bunch of magazines to go through before adding them to the recycling pile it was a perfect opportunity.
It took quite a bit longer than I thought it would, as I was looking for something that caught my poetic fancy. Finally, Martha Stewart Living came through with a gardening article! Here is my very brief Black Out Poem.
This process was a lot of fun, making me look at things a little differently. I'm going to try to create a few more. Odd side note: black Sharpie on shiny magazine pages smells an awful lot like nail polish!
I never heard of this. How fun and interesting as well -- great job.
ReplyDeleteIt was fun -- a new challenge to try out during Poetry Month!
DeleteWhat a great idea...you've inspired me.
ReplyDeleteAny poem that uses my favourite word - autumnal - has my vote!
I must admit I love that word as well -- it caught my eye on this page!
DeleteThis would be a really great activity to do with my class as we study poetry especially diligently during April. Thanks for sharing! Plus, for those of us that aren't naturally poets? Perhaps this will refine our skills.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely perfect for a class activity, working with what you have -- a big stack of newspapers, magazines, whichever. It's fun :)
DeleteI would imagine that you need to find a passage that inspires you as a first line. This one works wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteThat was the part that took the longest, paging through magazines checking for something that jumped out. I know some people say to just work with whatever is first available. Could be harder!
DeleteVery nice! I had not heard of Blackout Poetry before. Yours reads like Haiku.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suko! You're right, when I reread it, it does have a bit of a haiku feel -- not intentional, but kind of nice ;)
DeleteAh yes, the distinctive smell of sharpie pens! :) The poem you created is wonderful and makes me curious as to the original text, yet I know I would probably be disappointed by it after reading your poem version.
ReplyDeleteIt was an article about ginkos ;)
DeleteIsn't that remarkably fun! With a nice resulting poem --- cool!
ReplyDeleteYes, it is fun! I've been playing around with the technique a bit more, and it is really entertaining. Better than crosswords ;)
DeleteThat's fantastic!
ReplyDeleteWow -- I'm going to try this!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see the results -- I'm sure you'd enjoy this.
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