Erasure Poetry
Erasure Poetry
Subtracting to Create
Subtracting to Create
Write an erasure poem (blackout poem) by taking an existing text and removing words until something new emerges. Instead of writing from scratch, you will be sculpting with absence, carving meaning out of something else.
You must let the poem reveal itself. You may start with one idea, but the words left behind may pull you in an entirely different direction. Follow them.
You can create your poem by:
Using a physical page from a book, newspaper, or magazine (yes, especially bad YA novels—rip them out, deface them, reclaim them).
Using a digital erasure tool like Blackout Poetry Maker to remove words from an online text.
Taking a screenshot of a passage, then marking over words in a drawing app.
The key is to let go of control—work with the words already on the page, not against them.
The poem must be created by erasing words from an existing text.
The remaining words should form a new meaning, image, or tone different from the original.
The poem can be serious, absurd, haunting, ironic—let the text decide.
If working physically, consider how the layout and space affect the poem. A blackout design, doodles, or visual emphasis can add another layer of meaning.
Scan the page before choosing words. What themes emerge? What hidden messages are waiting?
Start with the verbs and nouns. The strongest erasure poems often cut out filler words and leave behind strong, striking phrases.
Allow the unexpected. You may set out to make a love poem and end up with something eerie, philosophical, or surreal. Let it happen.
Play with design. Blackout, underline, highlight, scatter—the form can be as expressive as the words.
Terrible YA novels (Pool Boys, Best Friends for Never, My Stepbrother, My Enemy)
Old newspapers or magazines (random gossip articles are GOLD)
Corporate emails or instruction manuals (turn the mundane into poetry)
Historical documents (old speeches, diaries, letters)
Bad fanfiction (if you dare)
Mary Ruefle’s A Little White Shadow (erased prose into haunting new poetry)
Austin Kleon’s Newspaper Blackout (visual erasure poetry)
Tom Phillips’ A Humument (art and text transformed)