Triton College Library Website: Library Blog

Create Redline Poetry for Valentine's Day!

How to Make Blackout Poetry (in Red) 

Reading blackout poetry is fun, but creating it is fulfilling and engaging. There are many techniques that you can study, but we’ll focus on the one that is easiest to pick up and apply! Creating your blackout poetry is a fun way to flex your creativity within the confines of a single passage.

To get started on your first blackout poem, you’ll need a page of text, a pencil or a black (or Red) marker, and a basic understanding of what you want to write! Then, you can dive in…

• First, you have to decide on a text you’d like to work with. Many modern blackout poets use articles found online, but you can also use old books, other poems, newspapers, magazines– whatever you can find that features words you can blackout!
• This is where your initial inspiration comes into play. Look over the text you have chosen for words that relate to the poem you wish to create! Depending on your chosen text this can be rather simple or more difficult, so don’t sweat taking your time!
• Circle your chosen words BEFORE blacking out the rest of the passage. Do this with a pencil or with the marker you are using to black out the passages. This keeps everything neat and allows you to go back and edit your poem before you reach the point of no return.

• Create your poem! Before blacking out anything, do one final read-through. Read it out loud and backward until you feel you are pleased with the final result!
• Finally, it’s time for the art! Take your chosen blacking out (or Red) marker or pen and begin to black out all of the words that are not your chosen words. You can black out (or Red out) the words in any way you wish– many blackout poets do artful squiggles or make designs with the ink. This is the best time to let your imagination flow.
• And, when the ink dries, your poem is done!

Adapted from https://www.twinkl.com/teaching-wiki/blackout-poetry