Newspaper Blackout
by
Austin Kloen
http://www.austinkleon.com/category/newspaper-blackout-poems/
Goal: To use newspapers of other sources of print to
create poetry for a variety of purposes
The Process
•TIME magazine recently revealed its 30 MustSee Tumblr Blogs which includes the highly
creative, user-generated Newspaper Blackout.
•This blog is the brainchild of Austin-based artist
and writer Austin Kleon.
•The main objective of the Tumblr is to display
poetry through the omission of words in already
printed text. Essentially, it is poetry by way of
censorship, executed with the aid of a black
sharpie.
The Process
•
Taking published works in
the form of newspaper
articles, novels, and even
horoscopes, this style of
"blackout poetry" reveals
only carefully selected
words to create a new,
shorter composition of
expression. Often, the
poems produced offer a
sense of hope and
inspiration. At times, they
can be depressing but
thought-provoking. I love
the way this Tumblr
reflects how art inspires
art.
3
“Creativity
Is
Subtraction”
(Austin Kloen).
4
(Often positive)
Free template from www.brainybetty.com
5
Free template from www.brainybetty.com
6
(From Fiction)
3/27/2019
Free template from www.brainybetty.com
7
(Including titles)
3/27/2019
Free template from www.brainybetty.com
8
(Even Horoscopes)
3/27/2019
Free template from www.brainybetty.com
9
As a Strategy
• Blackout words in a story or article to leave behind the
general gist of the piece.
• Given any written piece (newspaper, something from
online, etc.) as a source of words, students could black
out words to create an understanding of independent
reading material.
• Students could blackout words from the newspaper et.
al. to demonstrate a feeling or theme or understanding of
a class novel (chapter, unit, whole piece).
• To play around with words to create something new.
• To play around with parts of speech to create a poem,
maybe using specific parts of speech.
• Any other strategies you can think of!