A mix of writing and visual art
All you need to make blackout poetry is imagination and the ability to let your mind take creative leaps with given text. Even my logical, engineer-minded husband enjoyed this project when we participated in a workshop after my reading for In the Context of Love at the East Tawas Library. Any age can participate, too. My ten-year old granddaughter enjoys making them.
When I shared a political blackout poem on Facebook, a friend asked me about guidelines. The best part: there aren’t any! Simply tear a page from an old book and get started.
Rules: Forget logic
The words don’t have to make logical sense as they would in a sentence. You can create a mood, conjure an emotion, or use a combination of words that surprise you or make you think. You don’t have to draw or paint a fancy background, either. Simply cross out or mark over the unused words.
How to start
If you’re still unsure, this simple how-to may help:
- Use pencil to circle the words you want to make up your poem. Have fun playing with different combinations of words.
- After you decide on your poem, clearly mark your chosen words with circles, rectangles, or whatever shape works for you, using marker, ink or colored pencil.
- Color or mark over the unused words. That’s it.
In the third picture, below, notice I accidentally colored through the word “desire” (I happened to look up while coloring). No big deal — I simply chose another word, “meditation.”
Here are a few of my recent blackout poems:
If you’re interested in the history of blackout poetry and how it differs from other forms of poetry, such as found poetry or erasure poetry, see The History of Blackout Poetry.
For me, it’s a relaxing, almost meditative break from my usual writing.
If you’re looking for some amazingly creative examples, see #blackoutpoetry on Instagram. And have fun!
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Thank you for visiting.
Linda K. Sienkiewicz is a writer, poet, and artist
Books: In the Context of Love | Gordy and the Ghost Crab | Sleepwalker
New novel, Love and Other Incurable Ailments, coming fall 2026 from Regal House Publishing
Connect with Linda on social media: LinkTree