Blackout Poetry: Creative Development

I enjoy writing poetry and making visual art with found things and thus it is a bit surprising that I only discovered blackout poetry in 2023. This type of poetry falls under the category of Found Poetry that according to poets.org takes existing texts and refashions, reorders and presents them as poems.

Blackout Poetry, also referred to as Redacted Poetry is brought into the world by selecting words from a block of text, leaving them in the original position they appeared in print and striking out the rest. This is a meeting of two creative minds, a collaborative endeavour between the most likely unsuspecting author of the original text and the poet who brings to light new revelations, new meaning with the words that have been selected.

It is a form of poetry along with collage poetry (something I discovered much earlier) that upon reflection is a culmination of nearly forty years working in the creative industries; first as a graphic designer/illustrator, then as a maker of collage and assemblage art and later as a writer of poetry.

In July 2023 I began to explore the possibilities of blackout poetry using old National Geographic magazine text and crossing out with a black sharpie. This method produced quite messy visual results and at the beginning I also forgot to photograph the original text.

National Geographic, March 2002, p59. Blackout poetry 2023, KEW

By the time I wrote the 'Catalogue' article for a Dead Good Blog in mid-July, I had figured out a tidier method; photographing the text, inputting into the computer and blacking out using Photoshop.

Army & Navy Stores Catalogue, 1907, p.313. Blackout poetry 2023, KEW

Moving on, considering content for this current article, I began again with photographing the text and then firstly doing the Photoshop method.

Country Life, December 1993, p.58. Blackout poetry 2024, KEW

Then I thought I would experiment further with the original magazine text and add colour using coloured pencils and Ohuhu markers. With this method one can see all original text leaving the selected words appearing as if a cryptic message.

Country Life, December 1993, p.58. Blackout poetry 2024, KEW

The next experiment was using colour and then adding marks with a black technical pen to push back the unwanted text making it nearly illegible.

National Geographic, May 2012, p.57. Blackout poetry 2024, KEW

Country Life, April 1994, p.76. Blackout poetry 2024, KEW

Writing is breakfast process

Writing is breakfast '3'

Thankyou for reading, Kate J

Sources
https://writers.com/what-is-blackout-poetry-examples-and-inspiration

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Leaving Timmy down the well

Something Refreshing

Sitting sassy, make mine a lassi
Pass it fast, let it splash
Alabaster flash
Cat laps, getting fat
She's a terrible waitress



Inspired by Abdul's storytelling rhymes, I thought I'd write a little ditty and take the week's theme ever so literally.  It's all square windows from here on in (with grubby fingerprints on the glass). 

This week I have been taking my drinks cold, particularly tea.  As it hots up, I distract myself at work by finding new ways to quency my thirst.  So green tea, peppermint tea and licorice tea have all been made with a very small amount of hot water then topped up with ice cold water from the dispenser.  I think I find them more palatable that way.  The flavour seems more delicate when the tea is cold.

Yesterday, I inadvertently discovered lassi.  While ordering online from the takeaway, I clicked on the lassi to find out what it was.  I know I'm a lassi but didn't realise there was an edible version of the gentler (the greatest misnomer ever coined) sex.  Lassi is, I discovered, yoghurt and milk mixed together with optional flavouring.  So it's a smoothie.  Sort of.  I know this because I ordered it by accident while trying to find out what it was.  I found it delicious, Raven said it was disgusting, and I bought yoghurt today with the intention of drinking more of the stuff.  I expect to gain about 2 stone per month. 

This makes me realise that I had always focused on the 'fresh' part of 'refreshment' - as if refreshments were something light and airy, like dew or a gentle breeze.  Refreshment does, in fact include everything from caramel latte to deep fried Mars Bars. 

To recap:

Fresh: something new, different or recently created
Refresh: to reinvigorate, to renew or update
Refreshment: a light snack or drink, or to give fresh energy

I assume everyone else has these muddled definitions in their heads and it's not a(nother) sign of senility.  Someone tell me it's an integral part of poetics and not early onset Alzheimer's.  No, really.  I've drunk a lot of lassi.  And I'm not sure whether to call the RSPCA. 

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