Week 3: Experiment: Cut-Up Poem. Due Jan 20.
A cut-up is a type of “found poem” or “random poem” which mixes deliberate choice
with random elements. This type of writing can be help us break up our usual habits of
perceiving and writing, forcing us to use different words and syntax than our habitual
ones. Cut-ups have been used by many writers for fun, variety, and even to predict the
future.
There are many ways to do cut-ups; this is a quick version. Give yourself and hour or so
and have fun with it – this takes a playful attitude rather than deep thought.
Before you start, you’ll need to select your texts (see below), and have a piece of paper,
scissors, and tape or a glue stick.
1. Select 4 or 5 short texts that you can physically cut into pieces. Go for as much
variety as possible. It’s fun to use your own writing, but mix it up with other material.
You can use originals of some things (newspapers), print material off the internet, or
make photocopies. For example:
- A newspaper article or news article printed from the internet
- A photocopy of a page from a book you are reading for fun
- A photocopy of a page from a school book
- A page (original, copied, or printed) from your personal diary or journal
- A letter (or email) you sent or received
- A poem or story you wrote in the past
- A story or poem from a magazine
- A page from a spiritual or self-help book
- A great, famous poem or speech
- Whatever else comes to hand.
2. Once you have your materials (about 5 different texts), cut them up into pieces. I like
to cut horizontally, keeping individual lines of text intact, so I end up with long, skinny
pieces of text. You don’t need to cut up all of every page. Once you have a good pile of
pieces of text, mix them thoroughly.
3. RANDOMLY pull pieces out of the pile, gluing or taping them onto a new sheet of
paper until you have a full page. Don’t think about it, don’t choose specific words; just
grab them and stick them on the page.
4. TYPE UP the words in the order they landed on your paper. At this point you can
leave the words exactly as they turned up, or edit the words so that the sentences make
sense (more or less). I like to start with a direct transcription, and then refine the
language in a second draft.
5. When you hand this in, list the original materials you started with as well as the typed
version you end with.
Submit your cut-up Experiment by Friday, January 20.