Fancy being a ‘blackout poet’? All you need do is take a page from a book or a magazine, color the page with a marker (or pencil) until there are just a few words left, and voila – you have yourself a poem. Here are some tips on how to get started, and three blackout poetry Instagram accounts.
Getting started yourself
- First, briefly scan the page you have chosen to see if you come across any words that interest you and that you feel you can use.
- Next, read the page fully. Circle the words that touch you and that you want to use for your poem/thought.
- Write the circled words down on a separate piece of paper and see if you can form sentences with it. Are you missing a word? If so, see if you can find it on the original (book/magazine) page.
- Once you have your poem in your mind, you can black out the words that you don’t need, leaving only those that form your poem.
Inspiration
This account shares work from different creators. One uses a black marker to block out the words; another turns it into a true work of art with paint and brushes – just like the poem below by Kristina Moriconi.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuIR1xpFKv4/
It may be a smaller account than the one above, but the blackout poetry is just as nice. Heather Munro often uses bright colors to strip away the words and make complete creations.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzi46zGB_Ri/
Colette Love Hilliard mainly uses black markers to create her blackout poetry. She plays with the whitespace, so that figures are also often featured in her work, such as the poem below about the moon.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BuP3PAQAINU/
Translation Julia Gorodecky Header @Foolishfancy, @Makeblackoutpoetry
