Erasure Poetry
Create poems by erasing words from existing texts, revealing hidden meanings
Erasure poetry (or redaction poetry) involves selecting a text and systematically removing words until a poem remains. The original text becomes a visual artifact with some words inked out, others left visible. This technique transforms existing material into something entirely new, creating dialogue between your choices and the source text. It's a meditative, visual practice that combines reading, editing, and visual art. The resulting poems often reveal unexpected meanings hidden in the source material.
How to start
- 1Choose source material: newspaper, book page, letter, or website printout
- 2Read through and identify words or phrases that stand out
- 3Decide which words to keep and which to erase
- 4Mark or ink out unnecessary words to create your poem
- 5The negative space and remaining text together form your finished work
What you'll need
- Source text (printed or digital)EssentialFree
- Marker, pen, or digital editorEssentialFree
Where to learn more
Plot twists
Ways to spice this up when the basics get boring.
- Create erasure poetry from your own journal or diary
- Erase a text so only nouns remain, creating a visual poem
- Make erasure poetry from a language you don't speak, guided by visual arrangement
Visual, tangible task with immediate results. Meditative activity that quiets mental chatter. The destructive element (crossing out) can be satisfying for restless minds.
Tom Phillips spent decades creating erasure art from an obscure Victorian novel, transforming it into a masterpiece called 'A Humument.'
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