Trying out “black-out poetry”

I knew Austin Kleon from his book Steal Like An Artist. And since I followed his blog, I already got interested on black-out poetry.

Maybe on my past years, I’ve been very creative, but suddenly I’m not. I honestly feel rusty on thinking of new ideas and stuff. Fortunately, I still read a lot. And reading is one of the things that’s keeping “artsy” self alive.

Today, I’m sharing you my first time making/doing a  black-out poetry. Well, it’s basically creating a poem or a part of a poem out of an already-established article from newspapers or books. It seems easy, but it is honestly hard coming up to a different set of words. It’s really cool, though – finding the right words and blacking-out the not-so-needed ones.

Just a few tips from a first-timer to another:

• Grab a random page and challenge yourself.
• Or choose or pet specific words like “pain”, “hurt”, “love”, “life” to get yourself started.
• Every page counts. Remember the trees and how important they are. I prefer using old books that are already damaged, or old newspapers your dad already threw away. Your choice.
• Use a pencil to box your words first then create an idea out if them.
• Choose your markers wisely.