Creating a Blackout Poem

Blackout poetry is a style of poetry that involves blacking out or erasing words in an already-existing text to create new, unique poems. The conventional way of creating blackout poetry is to take a page from a book, a newspaper, or some other physical medium and erase words to leave behind the words that stood out to them. Now, people often use computer software (Microsoft Word or Google Docs) to create the same effect.

There are two common ways of creating a blackout poem: physically ripping out a piece of text and covering it with a marker, or finding a piece of text online and marking it that way. Both are valid ways of creating blackout poetry.

If you wish to create a digital piece of blackout poetry, consider using Microsoft Word, Google Docs, Gimp, MS Paint, or MacOs's Preview software to markup your page.

What do you want to talk about? Do you want to express a feeling, provide a stance on a controversial issue, or do you simply to create a poem for the fun of it? Consider what your goals are the ways you wish to accomplish them. Carefully planning out your poem or simply going with the flow are two great options when creating your first blackout poem.

To match your theme, carefully consider which source you wish to use. The Great Gatsby, Introduction to Linear Algebra, and To Kill a Mockingbird will all have different moods and words written within them. Also, consider if you wish to physically rip out a page from one of your favorite books, or if you’d rather use a digital page of text as to not harm your favorite book, magazine, newspaper, or whatever it is you wish to use

At a minimum, you will need a black marker (physical or digital) to cover up your selected words and the source you already chose. If you wish to physically mark a page, you may want a pair of scissors to cut out the page you wish to write on. Grab some colored pencils, crayons, or colored markers if you wish to put some art on your poem afterwards. Anything goes, and you can make your poem however you wish. Grab whatever materials you believe will help you put your ideas onto paper.

You’ll want to choose specific words to express your theme, or if you’re inspired to write about something else based on what you’ve read, run with that new idea!

After finding noteworthy words and phrases, look at the helping words and phrases behind and after them. Think of ways to create a new thought based on the text surrounding your words. Often, trying to think of ways to connect your words will help you think of new and creative ways to express your ideas. Because you are limited by the words on the page, you are forced to think differently.

Depending on how you wish to create your poem, you may want to draw a box around your selected words. This will further emphasize the message you are trying to create, and it will help prevent you from accidentally covering up your chosen words later.

If you wish to be very creative, draw some artwork around your words. Typically, you’ll want your drawings to match the mood of your poem.

The last step necessary to finish your blackout poem. Be careful not to accidentally cover up your chosen words.

Congratulations, you finished your first blackout poem. Show it off to your friends and family, and maybe even make another one