Blackout Poetry Contest in Trexler Library

All month long, Trexler Library is celebrating National Poetry Month! 

This year, we are highlighting a form of poetry known as Blackout Poetry, where the intent is to take a page from a book, magazine, or newspaper, identify key words in the text, and black out the remaining text with a marker to reveal a poem with a deeper meaning. For many years, marginalized communities have been silenced at the hands of harmful redacted government documents. In turn, Blackout Poetry utilizes this once very oppressive method of erasing history and repurposes it to reveal the truth. Artists and poets alike have begun rewriting the narrative through Blackout Poetry.

And now it is your turn! Trexler Library has created an interactive Blackout Poetry Display, where you can create your own poem with recycled book and magazine pages and enter our contest to win a $25 bookstore gift card! The contest runs until Wednesday, April 27. All the pages and markers are located with the display in the lobby of Trexler Library. 

We can’t wait to see your creativity!

*Disclaimer: no library books were harmed in the making of this display.