No, no, no…I am NOT binge drinking…after being married to an alcoholic for several years, that’s a “no-go” for me…EVER!
I think I have discovered a new hobby/coping mechanism/therapy…it’s called blackout poetry, also known as redacted poetry! What’s that? Well, it is something you do on something printed (newspaper article, page from a book, a printed passage) and the reader circles words that stand out to them and that they can string together to make a poem. The rest of the passage is “blacked out” or crossed out, while the pertinent words remain untouched. Reading them then makes the poem come to life!
For the example above, I took an article from a women’s housekeeping magazine from the 1950’s on “how to be a good wife,” and blacked out what I didn’t feel pertinent, to re-make an advice piece on how to get out of an abusive marriage. It turned out really great! Even better than I had expected! The left image is the “before” and the right image is the “after.” Read them both and let me know what you think? I formatted the article from another website, added the heart bullets to separate the suggestions the original author had (and I have NO idea who it was — I’m sure it’s a woman writer who had to remain nameless at that period in time), and made the original document. I then printed the article and used a pencil to circle and cross out. Then did it on the document with shading. It worked well!
I now have the Sunday paper I am going through and I will post more as I do more! It is SO fun and really makes you think! Not only is this fun, but some people also use it as art, drawing on it, then calling out their pertinent words. This really has intrigued me and I hope you all check it out too! Plus, it’s a great activity for us “shut-in’s!”
Have fun and be safe this holiday weekend! <3