Cover of Newspaper blackout

Newspaper Blackout

Newspaper + Marker = Poetry.

Instead of starting with a blank page, poet Austin Kleon grabs a newspaper and a permanent marker and eliminates the words he doesn’t need.—NPR’s Morning Edition

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NEWSPAPER BLACKOUT POEMS

Newspaper + Marker = Poetry.

WHIZ

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

we whiz on the flowers / and in protection of our bodies / escape in different directions

Page 36 of Newspaper Blackout, printed by Time Out Chicago.

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A MOTHER’S FORGIVENESS

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

a mother's forgiveness / is a sigh and a cleanup / after an extended silence / in a seat near the wall
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A bonus poem for Mother’s Day: this one is from page 59 of Newspaper Blackout.

MOTHER’S DAY

Sunday, May 9th, 2010

the sons they are rabid / one loses his glove, another / slips and nearly drowns / they try to put the moves on her / then venture blatantly to harm's way

This is one of those poems where the meaning changes depending on the title. It was originally titled “The Babysitter.”

Say Happy Mother’s Day to your mom with some Newspaper Blackout poems!

TAKE ME TO YOUR SPOT

Thursday, May 6th, 2010

Aliens / take me to your spot / the best section of it / I need to rest / the teeming Earth / I have already been here / in other words / forget the whole 'take me to your leader' business / I am wiped out

Thanks y’all for helping put Newspaper Blackout at #16 on the Poetry Foundation’s bestsellers list. If you haven’t yet, you can get your copy here.

Time Out Chicago just said of the book, “”Turns out Richard Nixon wasn’t our nation’s most gifted redactor.”

See other book updates on the Newspaper Blackout Facebook page.

SKINNY-DIPPING

Tuesday, May 4th, 2010

join us / and discover the joys of skinny-dipping / f a r a way / on a yellow school bus / three of the day's passengers / are not to be found

Page 21 of Newspaper Blackout. Blogged by Cal Morgan over at Fifty-Two Stories.

It’s been three whole weeks since Newspaper Blackout came out. If y’all liked the book, I’d sure appreciate a review on Amazon.

ANYTHING GOES

Thursday, April 29th, 2010

anything goes in America / the rules / not really rules / but a kind of guesswork

Page 90 of Newspaper Blackout. Blogged by The New Yorker.

And a great tale from Heather Brush, the books page editor at the Roanoke Times (she reviewed NB):

There’s a funny story behind my review…the book was sitting on my desk here in the newsroom, waiting for me to finish it and review it, when it disappeared. Someone swiped it! I put up “wanted” posters and mysteriously it was returned in the dark of night. Apparently, news people are very interested in this book!

A book worth stealing — that’s what I like to hear! Thanks, Heather.

Two other great reviews from The Christian Science Monitor and The Austin American-Statesman.

Also: over 500 people now follow the Newspaper Blackout Tumblr where folks post their own blackout poems. Check it out.

THE WORTH OF THESE THINGS

Tuesday, April 27th, 2010

the worth of these things is beyond measure / the way she left pieces of us / for me to discover / a pair or panties / on the floorboards of my civic / a teenage boy pondering / future re-enactments

Page 57 of Newspaper Blackout. Blogged by The New Yorker.

For those of you in Austin, I’ll be at the Hotel San Jose tonight at 8PM, teaching you how to make blackout poems!

Our super-soft, super-badass Newspaper Blackout t-shirts are shipping this week! Get yours:

Newspaper Blackout T-shirt

TALL BOYS

Friday, April 23rd, 2010

let out a Yelp / anyone with a keyboard job / as you slog your way / through the day and night / you're here, so, for your benefit / know that there is beer / in tall-boy cans / in a styrofoam cooler / and the universe / stealthily pours it for us

Austin food blogger Addie Broyles featured me on her Relish Austin blog for The Austin American Statesman. She asked me to make a blackout poem from one of her columns, so this is what I came up with.

She also asked me a few questions:

What three things are always in your fridge? To quote the title of my friend Bill Keaggy’s book, Milk Eggs Vodka.

What’s your favorite condiment? If I ever drown myself, it’ll be in Mi Madre’s salsa.

What’s your go-to snack while reading/working with a newspaper? Almonds…and beer.

See the condition of our fridge after a party at our house: “Austin Kleon: What’s in Your Fridge Friday?”

WALL STREET JOURNAL BLACKOUT POEMS

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

The folks over at the Speakeasy Blog asked me to make some poems from the WSJ, and I obliged. I sent them five, thinking they’d only run one or two, and they ran them all. They’re a little hard to read over there, so I’m re-posting them here:

* * *

“Tex”

Tex prayed fer his mother and football / your spiritual life is your regular life

* * *

“The Market”

look at all the good ass we keep collecting / said the market to investors / the bragging is no longer

* * *

“The Ark”

is it logic or vision / which builds the ark?

* * *

“Land”

land no one is farming / thats the land with the yield / go for yr own damned spot / on acres with no takers

* * *

“The Secretary”

the secretary met the visitor in the shin with violence

OPEN ROAD

Monday, April 19th, 2010

I polled The Twitterverse, and The Twitterverse spoke.

If there’s ever a Newspaper Blackout sequel (and I suggest you buy a copy if you ever want to see that happen), I think I’d like to use more drawing and graphic elements in the poems, a la Humument or TNT En Amerique.

Speaking of, you can now Look Inside! the book on Amazon. Tip: if you keep clicking “Surprise me!” you can see a bunch of poems.

Search the Newspaper Blackout Poem archives: