I have a confession to make. The Black Out Poem has captured my imagination. I find it interesting to take a page filled with writing and turn it into something often contrary to the original meaning. It’s like playing with someone else’s words and making them become my own. Free verse is the best way to work with this form of poetry. There are many pages of the book I selected left. I’m going by the old cliché “waste not, want not.” I plan to use Rebecca Hunt’s Mr. Chartwell until it runs out of words to create Black Out verses. The poem I called Jaws of the Past.
About the Black Out Poem and Jaws of the Past
Poet takes a black marker and redacts words until a poem is formed. It is important to note the text and redacted words form a visual poem.
Method to use
1. Identify source text. The source can be a newspaper, a book page, or written text.
2. Draw a box around keywords or phrases.
3. Make Connections between boxes. (This is optional.)
4. Color the rest in with a marker. You can use any color. The most common color used is black.
I found this style of creating a poem unique from anything I’ve ever tried before. The words are already provided, and the challenge is to make something poetic out of the text. I decided to use Mr. Chartwell by Rebecca Hunt to create these poems.
Jaws of the Past An approaching headache Mucksweatingly mundane Countless times I get stuck The answer is I am powerless Thrown to the jaws of the past You bastard Fleeting years glide by A relief This particular visit Is especially cruel The opportunity to retire Something to carry me through Eventually defeat time Short of sarcastic comebacks
Who is Molly Shea?
Molly Shea is an accomplished fictional short story writer from Indiana who writes short stories and novels about a fictional town called Tecumseh. To read more of her short stories and adventures, click here.
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Lovely poetry. A marvelous coinage… “mucksweatingly mundane”…awesomeness 👍
Thank you.
Oh, I think this is one of my favorites so far, Molly <3
Thank you.
This is of my favorites.
Thank you.
I didn’t think I liked black-out poetry, this piece is so beautiful and meaningful, so well put together. The grief of that one line, almost dead center, ‘You bastard’ seemed so perfect for some reason. It’s interesting how free it seems, but how silly that seems at the same time: line, form, meter, present but couldn’t have been ‘behind’ it…thank you for getting me thinking about this different art form, your poem is beautiful!
Thank you.
Thank you.