Try blackout poetry with an old newspaper

When you try blackout poetry you work by subtraction: take a page of existing text and black out everything except the words forming your poem. It removes the blank page entirely, which is why it suits people who find writing intimidating, and the constraint of using only words already on the page produces combinations you would never have written.

Why try blackout poetry with an old newspaper is worth an hour

The words appear in fixed order, so you are solving a puzzle rather than composing from nothing. That constraint generates the strange phrasing that makes found poetry interesting. Reading the page for one arresting word first also gives you a centre to build around, which is more productive than reading from the top hoping a poem appears.

How to try blackout poetry with an old newspaper step by step

1. 1

   Choose a text-heavy page

   Dense body text works better than headlines or advertising. Old books and newspapers are ideal.

2. 2

   Read for one striking word

   Scan for a single word with weight. That word becomes the anchor everything else is built around.

3. 3

   Pencil-circle candidates first

   Before blacking anything out. Ink is permanent and you will change your mind repeatedly.

4. 4

   Read your selection aloud

   Words in fixed order can look right and sound wrong. The ear catches it immediately.

5. 5

   Black out everything else

   Marker, paint, or pattern. The blacking-out is part of the artwork rather than merely deletion.

Tips to get more out of it

• You may skip large amounts of text between your chosen words. The gaps are entirely allowed and are usually necessary to find a workable phrase.
• Use a thick marker with a scrap sheet underneath the page. Marker ink bleeds through newspaper reliably and will mark the table.
• Making the blackout decorative rather than solid turns the page into a visual piece as well as a poem.

Ways to mix it up

If newspapers are hard to find, printed web articles or charity shop paperbacks work identically. If you want the reverse constraint, try selecting words only from the first line of each paragraph, which forces much stranger results.

Try blackout poetry with an old newspaper: frequently asked questions