Etymologically, the word ‘poetry’ can be traced to ‘poiesis’ in Greek. It means ‘to make’ or ‘to create’. To create out of nothingness is godlike. To create out of ‘something’, is blackout poetry. Also called erasure poetry, it is a form of found poetry created by erasing an already existing text, including pages from newspapers and magazines. It is beautiful to see how something so creative and poetic emerges out of a factual, prosaic text.
In the 18th century, Caleb Whitefoord came up with the idea of ‘cross-reading’ newspaper articles. Instead of moving down the columns, as expected of readers, he playfully moved his eyes horizontally across the columns, bringing up very humorous sentences and ideas. In 1920, Tristan Tzara, a Dadaist poet, published a poem titled ‘To Make a Dadaist Poem’, which shows how poets recreate.
‘Take a newspaper.
Take some scissors.
Choose from this paper an article the length you want to make your poem.
Cut out the article.
Next carefully cut out each of the words that make up this article and put them all in a bag.
Shake gently.
Next take out each cutting one after the other.
Copy conscientiously in the order in which they left the bag.
The poem will resemble you.
And there you are—an infinitely original author of charming sensibility, even though unappreciated by the vulgar herd.’
William S Burroughs popularised the ‘cut-up method’ in the 1950s. Blackout Poetry is considered one of the most destressing activities today. It opens up the possibility of recreation, especially of texts which might be ugly or boring for various reasons.
First, one reads already existing printed matter while scanning for words that would help form a line or more when placed together. These words are circled, and the rest of the text is blackened out. Poets and artists who are more creative try to colour the other words in different hues, draw pictures on the page and shade within those patterns.
Blackout poems can also be made of printed poems, stories, plays and novels. The method aligns with the philosophy of ‘kintsugi’, where broken pieces are fused together to make something more beautiful than before.
Erasure is not forgetting the past. It is leaving the traces behind, but in a more meaningful, engaging and impactful way for the future. ‘Austin Kleon’ and ‘The Unprecedented Project’ are worth scrolling through for blackout poems made with a difference.
The writer is a poet, translator and assistant professor of English at BCM College, Kottayam