My friend recently introduced me to blackout poetry. At first, the task seemed wrong and daunting; ripping a page out of a book and blacking out most of the words. How would I know what words to pick? What book was I willing to destroy for the sake of art?
Well, a friend just so happened to give me a book she didn't want. Instead of reading it, I decided, what the heck, I can destroy a book. I started by boxing words that stood out to me. Then, I'd go through and scribble furiously with a sharpie. And somehow, in the end, I had a cohesive poem.
I've made about 15 in the course of 3 days. I'm hooked. It's like a drug. I start shaking if I don't do at least 5 a day. Creating poetry is always therapeutic, but there is something especially satisfying about scribbling the crap out of a page with sharpie.
It also helped me find my voice again, something I've been struggling with in my poetry. I never know where to begin. I just stare at the blank page, trying to will myself to fill it. In blackout poetry, the words are already there. All you have to do is find them. Which, for some reason, makes the task of creating a poem less daunting.
If you haven't tried it, do it. Go to a thrift store and pick up a cheap book. Then, destroy it. Make art. Hang it on your wall. Trust me, you won't be sorry.
