Inktober Dark Verses Blackout Poetry Contest: Horror Edition
According to writersdigest.com, a blackout poem is when a poet takes a marker (usually black marker) to already established text–like in a newspaper–and starts redacting words until a poem is formed.
If you're not familiar with blackout poetry, this 5ish minute video provides a good overview.
Inspiration
What are the rules?
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All poems must be created from printed sources. Students can use magazines, books, or newspapers to create their poem. Ms. Adelman can assist in the library for students who would like to make photocopies for their project.
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All poems must be submitted using the Google Form submission link at the bottom of the page. The form will ask students to upload a color scan of their poem. Students can make scans of their poems from the photocopier in the library. Ms. Adelman can assist as needed.
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All entries must be received by Wednesday, October 25th, at 4 p.m.
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Your poem can be as long or short as you like, but it needs to be kept to one 8.5x11 paper.
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You may give your poem your own original title if you like. The title does not have to be drawn from words on the print page.
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You cannot add additional words or marks of punctuation (sorry), but you can play with shapes, color, and/or other elements of design or illustration.
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Though we will primarily focus on the poems themselves, we will also give significant consideration to how the poem is presented. Oftentimes, the art that accompanies the poem adds exceptional value. Your blackout should be easy to read, of course, but you can also play with the way the space around the words can enhance their meaning.
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You can mess with the words you find by blacking out part of them. For example, if you want just the word "play," but it appears originally as "playing," feel free to blackout the "ing."
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Digitally designed blackout poems or art are not allowed. Only blackouts and art done by hand will be considered for entry.
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Poems will be printed and displayed for the student body. They may also be posted to social media or used for future promotions.
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Lastly, because this is an October horror-themed competition, entries should be scary in nature or Halloween-themed; however, they should also be school appropriate and PG13 and non-threatening. As always, students are responsible for following the rules and guidelines in the Gretna Student Handbook. Entries deemed inappropriate will be disqualified, not displayed, and turned over to administration for review of Student Handbook violations.
How will the poems be judged?
We’ll be honest: this contest is a bit of an experiment, and we hope you’ll approach it that way.
We want you to have fun playing with language and meaning-making. We want you to experiment with choosing different words in different combinations to see how they create new imagery and ideas. We hope you’ll be sensitive to how the space around the words plays into the poem’s meaning, and we hope you’ll recite your work aloud to hear how it sounds. We hope that you'll create beautiful art that adds meaning or perspective to the words on the page. Above all, we hope your creation will show a real love of, and care with, language and art and what they can do.
Please surprise us!
