Do you want to write poetry but just can’t find the words? Try blackout poetry instead! Blackout poetry is when you take existing words in a text and black out most of them, leaving some words visible to form a poem. The text can be anything from a receipt or a book page to a newspaper article and you can black out words with markers, pens or colored pencils. No matter what your skill level is, blackout poetry is for everyone!

Dr. Jeanette Laredo will give a talk on the history of blackout poetry and demonstrate different techniques for obscuring words. This will lead into a workshop where participants will use the following provided supplies to create their own poems:

• Pages from books, magazines, newspapers and other texts

• Markers, pens, colored pencils

• Rulers, stencils, and washi tape

You’ll leave this workshop with a one-of-a-kind poem and a new skill to continue developing your poetry practice.

Dr. Jeanette Laredo received her Ph.D. in English from the University of North Texas where she studied monsters and Gothic literature. She is also a mixed-media artist known for her large-scale sculptures of creatures made from garbage.