Poet and screenwriter Lee Cotman will guide participants in creating their own “blackout” love poems from a variety of un-romantic source texts (e.g., junk mail and meeting minutes). In a blackout poem, the writer chooses an existing document and obscures all but a few selected words; the remaining words create the poem. This process puts the writer in direct conversation, not only with the words on the page, but with the historical context, power structures, and biases underlying their chosen text.

This workshop will begin with a brief discussion of the form and what makes a blackout poem effective, with examples by celebrated Black and Indigenous writers. We will then transition into a three-step, generative writing exercise, and close with an opportunity to share your draft. Open to writers of all ages and experience levels! See more for sponsors.