BLACKOUT POETRY

WHAT THE F◼️◼️◼️ IS BLACKOUT POETRY?

FOR ME, BLACKOUT POETRY IS A SERENDIPITOUS WEB OF DISCOVERY WHERE I FIND WHAT I NEED TO FIND WITHOUT NAMING IT BEFORE I BEGIN. I OFTEN LAUGH OUT LOUD AS THE WORDS UNVEIL THEMSELVES, REVEALING THE PERFECT WORD, PARAGRAPHS OR PAGES BEYOND THE LAST PERFECT WORD. AND, AS THEY CONTINUE TO PILE ON, BUILDING THAT STORY, THAT MESSAGE, THAT POEM THAT I HAD NO IDEA I NEEDED TO FIND WHEN I BEGAN — ORACLES ABOUND.

SOMETIMES THE POEMS EMERGE FROM ONE PAGE OF TEXT, BUT LATELY I’VE HAD THE MOST FUN BLACKING OUT ENTIRE MAGAZINES, ESPECIALLY ART MAGAZINES LIKE JUXTAPOZ. WHEN THE POEM IS COMPLETE AND THE ENTIRE MAGAZINE BLACKED OUT I THEN CALL THE FORMER MAGAZINE A ZOOK.

HERE ARE CLOSE-UP IMAGES OF THE BLACKOUT POEM “THE GAME CHANGER”