Blackout Poetry Night with Erin Dorney

Blackout poems are made by taking a source text (often "un-poetic" like a textbook, junk mail, a newspaper article, a brochure, or the page from a book) and crossing out MOST of the words. The words that remain make the poem.

Writer and artist Erin Dorney will give pointers and share more about her experience creating and showcasing blackout poetry (also known as erasure poetry or redaction). No writing experience required!

MATERIALS NEEDED:

(If you can't find every single supply or source text, that's okay. Just gather up anything you have access to.)

• Black Sharpie or other black marker with good coverage
• Pencil, eraser, and sharpener
• Bottle of white-out or correction tape pen
• Roll of washi tape or colored tape
• Colored pencils, crayons, markers
• A page of a newspaper, junk mail, receipts, a brochure, an official form or document (that can be transformed - nothing irreplaceable)
• An old book and/or magazine you're willing to destroy
• Cardboard boxes from food items, cut to flatten (cereal box, mac & cheese box, toothpaste box, etc)

ABOUT THE HOST: Erin Dorney

Erin Dorney is the author of I Am Not Famous Anymore: Poems After Shia LaBeouf (Mason Jar Press). Her work has appeared in various publications, including Passages North, Paper Darts, and Juked. She is a 2020 Anne LaBastille Memorial Writer in Residence (NY), was awarded an Emerging Artist Residency at Tofte Lake Center (MN), and was a 2019 Artist in Residence at Hewnoaks (ME).

Dorney’s collection of time-lapse video erasure poems, QUESTION THE BODY, is currently on display at the Center for Maine Contemporary Art. Her literary artwork and installations have been exhibited at Hennepin Theatre Trust; the Minnesota Center for Book Arts; and Susquehanna Art Museum.

She is a co-founder of Fear No Lit, home of the Submerging Writer Fellowship, and volunteers with VIDA: Women in the Literary Arts.

TICKETS: $10/person or $16/bring a friend