Newspaper Blackout: Poems
Austin Kleon
208 pages
Publication Date: April 13, 2010
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Source: Publisher
You wouldn’t think that poetry could be found within the pages of a newspaper but poet Austin Kleon has proved otherwise.When Kleon was twenty-two, he started using the newspaper and a black marker to find the words that writer’s block wouldn’t let him create on a blank page. The results are poems that are often funny or touching.
I’m really impressed with a lot of the poems I read in Newspaper Blackout. This volume of poetry isn’t like any other volume I’ve read before, not only because this is a collection of found poetry but also because this is a book you can read straight through and won’t get tired of. Often while reading poetry, it’s something you have to read a little at a time. Newspaper Blackout is a book you can easily read in one sitting.
According to poets.org found poetry is poems that “take existing texts and refashion them, reorder them, and present them as poetry.” It’s the “literary equivalent” of a collage. In high school for a few of my English classes I had to make found poetry. It’s really fun to do. I love the fact that by sharing some of the poems in this book with my six year-old son inspired him to pick up a magazine and create his own found poem.
One of my favorite poems in the book:
rediscover the pleasure
of play
we
are all schoolboys and schoolgirls
staggering under the
weight of dream
stomping adults
You don’t have to be a lover or heavy reader of poetry to enjoy this collection. The author also includes a “how-to” on making your own found poetry. Highly recommended.
Have you heard of found poetry before this post? Have you ever made your own found poem?