Strike-Out Poetry (also known as Black-Out or Erasure Poetry) is a way of writing a poem that uses a subtractive process rather than an additive process. I like this method of creating because it focuses on mining out the gems from an existing page rather than creating everything fresh from a blank one. I first discovered this way of creating poetry when I was given Tom Phillips book "The Humument" I highly recommend you look at this book! It is visually exquisite and endlessly inspiring. http://humument.com/
I have used Strike-Out Poetry as a one class project or as a collaborative activity with classroom teachers. Below is a lesson plan I co-authored with Sandra Blumenthal, a grade 5 educator at Lincoln Street School.
Disclaimer: some students absolutely love this activity - for those students, it is difficult to stop!
Strike-Out/Erasure Poetry:
A Lesson in Negative Space
Objectives/Overview:
~to recognize that other pieces of writing can be a source for poetry
~to explore/experiment with a subtractive process as a way of seeing
~to experiment with finding poetry (text) and mining from this found
poetry visual imagery to create a final composition
~to expose students to the work of Tom Phillips (The Humument)
Warm-up:
~Read poetry from Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon
~Discuss: Is this [found poetry] real poetry? What makes a poem?
~Share The Humument by Tom Phillips … with no words leading the way –
simply show the book as a picture book.
Materials:
~Old book pages or newspapers/magazines
~Fine and wide markers (sharpies)
~Colored papers
~Glue sticks
~Watercolor paints
~Drawing pencils
~Card stock – various colors
Process:
~Hook students by sharing Tom Phillip’s exquisite work: The Humument
~Share the story of how Tom Phillip created this work (found in Notes)
~Demonstrate how to “find” poetry within existing text by searching for
anchor words and linking these words & phrases to create a poem
~Show how to reveal the poem visually by circling the wanted or striking
out the unwanted; show how to link with lines & spaces
~Demonstrate collaging , drawing or painting over the rest of the page to
create a final composition
~Stress the importance of beginning in pencil so that lines can be changed
~Return to the examples of Tom Phillips as inspiration – review the philosophy
that to utilize someone’s idea is okay to do (not copying)
~Challenge the students to create a poem that has different meaning than
the original source
~Mount final poem page on brightly colored card stock
~Practice sharing & reading the found poetry created this way
Review:
~What did you enjoy about the process?
~What did you find challenging?
~What would you change?
~Is it easier to create a poem by subtracting words?
~Was it difficult to see through all the text to the poem beneath?
~Do you consider this found poem a collaboration between you
& the author of the original source?
~How would you cite/credit the poem?
Resources:
~The Humument (Tom Phillips)
~Creating Handmade Books (Alisa Golden)
~Newspaper Blackout (Austin Kleon)
www.wavepoetry.com/erasures/
www.randomnoodling.blogspot.com
www.humument.com
www.tomphillips.co.uk
www.lazaruscorporation.co.uk/v4/cutup/
Expansions:
~create a strike-out poem from junk mail
~write one or two word poems - these can be the more powerful than longer poems.
~take the poem you found & re-type it, creating a new shape/form
~create a specific poetry form such as haiku or non-rhyming sonnet
~create a poem that focuses on alliteration
~create a poem that is made up of strong visual images
~display at IAN night; include the opportunity for students to read their poems
I have used Strike-Out Poetry as a one class project or as a collaborative activity with classroom teachers. Below is a lesson plan I co-authored with Sandra Blumenthal, a grade 5 educator at Lincoln Street School.
Disclaimer: some students absolutely love this activity - for those students, it is difficult to stop!
Strike-Out/Erasure Poetry:
A Lesson in Negative Space
Objectives/Overview:
~to recognize that other pieces of writing can be a source for poetry
~to explore/experiment with a subtractive process as a way of seeing
~to experiment with finding poetry (text) and mining from this found
poetry visual imagery to create a final composition
~to expose students to the work of Tom Phillips (The Humument)
Warm-up:
~Read poetry from Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon
~Discuss: Is this [found poetry] real poetry? What makes a poem?
~Share The Humument by Tom Phillips … with no words leading the way –
simply show the book as a picture book.
Materials:
~Old book pages or newspapers/magazines
~Fine and wide markers (sharpies)
~Colored papers
~Glue sticks
~Watercolor paints
~Drawing pencils
~Card stock – various colors
Process:
~Hook students by sharing Tom Phillip’s exquisite work: The Humument
~Share the story of how Tom Phillip created this work (found in Notes)
~Demonstrate how to “find” poetry within existing text by searching for
anchor words and linking these words & phrases to create a poem
~Show how to reveal the poem visually by circling the wanted or striking
out the unwanted; show how to link with lines & spaces
~Demonstrate collaging , drawing or painting over the rest of the page to
create a final composition
~Stress the importance of beginning in pencil so that lines can be changed
~Return to the examples of Tom Phillips as inspiration – review the philosophy
that to utilize someone’s idea is okay to do (not copying)
~Challenge the students to create a poem that has different meaning than
the original source
~Mount final poem page on brightly colored card stock
~Practice sharing & reading the found poetry created this way
Review:
~What did you enjoy about the process?
~What did you find challenging?
~What would you change?
~Is it easier to create a poem by subtracting words?
~Was it difficult to see through all the text to the poem beneath?
~Do you consider this found poem a collaboration between you
& the author of the original source?
~How would you cite/credit the poem?
Resources:
~The Humument (Tom Phillips)
~Creating Handmade Books (Alisa Golden)
~Newspaper Blackout (Austin Kleon)
www.wavepoetry.com/erasures/
www.randomnoodling.blogspot.com
www.humument.com
www.tomphillips.co.uk
www.lazaruscorporation.co.uk/v4/cutup/
Expansions:
~create a strike-out poem from junk mail
~write one or two word poems - these can be the more powerful than longer poems.
~take the poem you found & re-type it, creating a new shape/form
~create a specific poetry form such as haiku or non-rhyming sonnet
~create a poem that focuses on alliteration
~create a poem that is made up of strong visual images
~display at IAN night; include the opportunity for students to read their poems