Sharif and a Sharpie

Tatum and Lindsay at So Destroy It are all about creativity, so when they featured the work of writer/artist Austin Kleon on their blog I wasn't surprised (but I was intrigued). Austin is a master of the art of blackout poetry. Armed with a newspaper and a Sharpie marker, he creates a message within a message by blacking out the majority of the text (and leaving a few words behind). As he notes in one of my favorite of his works: creativity is subtraction.

I was immediately down to try this because A) I own several Sharpie markers and B) I read every issue of the Queen's Journal (and never know what to do with them when I'm done).

I love the idea of recycling the words of a newspaper article and making them your own. The following are a few blackout poems that I did when I should have been studying.


BOP #1: Get Fresh




BOP #2: Sharif Says




BOP #3: Blogging v Living




The "slowly beginning to be fresh" one was actually my first attempt at blackout poetry (perhaps that's why those were the words that jumped out at me?) And the irony of the "blogging" one is not lost on me (as I am, in fact, sharing it on my blog).

xo,
Sharif