This is poem 8 out of 30 celebrating April as National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month!

There’s nothing especially remarkable about this poem, except for the fact that I did it live in front of a camera. Because I don’t keep track of time while I’m making them, I never really know how long these things usually take—but this one took about 17 minutes, which I think was more of a result of nerves in front of the camera than any poetic ingenuity.

Here’s the making in 224 frames:

see it bigger

And here’s a time-lapse video:

Making a newspaper blackout poem (time-lapse video) from Austin Kleon on Vimeo.

Just a little experiment. Hope you enjoy it.

TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to Drew Myron, who took a stab at his her (sorry, Drew!) own blackout poem. Rock on, Drew!

This is poem 7 out of 30 celebrating April as National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month!

TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to Elle Kay—she saw me on Texas Country Reporter and remembered seeing me making blackout poems on the UT Campus bus. Thanks, Elle!

This is poem 6 out of 30 celebrating April as National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month!

TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to Bruce Turner—thanks for helping us spread the word, Bruce!

This is poem 5 out of 30 celebrating April as National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month!

TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to William Patrick Wend, who blogged about the poems way back in 2007. Thanks for the continued support, WPW!

This is poem 4 out of 30 celebrating April as National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month!

TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to DJ Baker, who took the crappy news re: the economy, and thought, “Let’s do something useful with this bleak outlook. LET’S MAKE ART!” That’s the spirit, DJ!

This is poem 3 out of 30 celebrating April as National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month! (And appropriate for a Friday night, I think…)

TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to Carlos Rucker, who said this about the poems on his blog yesterday: “Suddenly, poetry is BOSS again. I think I found a new hobby.” Rock on, Carlos!

This is poem 2 out of 30 celebrating April as National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month!

TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to Dimitri Antonissen: a writer in Belgium who’s had quite a bit of success doing Dutch blackout poems. Rock on, Dimitri.

It’s April, and that means it’s National Poetry Month (Inter)national Newspaper Blackout Poetry Month!.

To celebrate, I’m going to be posting a poem every day of the month of April. The poem above is 1 out of 30!

But that’s not all: I want y’all to participate as well. Anybody who makes a Newspaper Blackout Poem this month will get a shout-out from me on this blog!

Here’s all you have to do:

• Grab a newspaper. Grab a marker. Make a poem.
• Post it online to:
  • your personal website or blog OR
  • the Newspaper Blackout Poems Flickr group OR
  • on the wall of the the Newspaper Blackout Poems Facebook page
• Be sure to link back to www.austinkleon.com or drop me a note to let me know of your creation.

Let’s see what we can do!

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TODAY’S SHOUT-OUT! goes to Vickie at A Dare a Day: she saw my segment on Texas Country Reporter and was inspired to make her own. Rock on, Vickie!

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Cut from the book. Subtitle: “Mamas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Writers.”

Yesterday I posted an oddly high number of links on the tumblelog related to blackout poems. Check ‘em out.

Cut from the book.