Blackout Poetry

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Produce an original short phrase or poem from pre-existing source text using subtractive editing.

Use it when: Use during a creative break, as a warm-up before an editorial or synthesis session, or as a low-stress transition between demanding agenda items.

Skip it when: Skip when the group needs analytical problem solving or when participants lack physical markers or a digital text equivalent.

Group arrangement: Individual work followed by pairs or trios, then whole-room voluntary sharing

Timing: 15 minutes suggested by TeamBuilding.com source instructions

Materials and tools

• One printed article, book page, or source text sheet per participant
• One black chisel-tip marker or dark felt pen per participant
• One fine-point pencil or pen per participant for initial word selection
• Scratch paper for notes or testing markers

Before participants arrive

1. Print or photocopy enough identical or varied text pages for all participants.
2. Place one printed text page, one pencil, and one dark marker at each seat.

Say this to open

You have a printed page of text in front of you. Our goal is to create a blackout poem by subtraction. In this first step, scan the page and lightly circle words that catch your eye. Keep your circles light so you can change your mind. Later, we will black out everything else.

How to run it

1. Scan and select words 4 minutes

   Deliver the opening script. Participants scan their printed sheet silently. They lightly circle 5 to 15 words that create an interesting phrase or mood when read top to bottom, left to right. Example: from a dry operational paragraph, a participant might circle 'weather', 'turning', 'into', 'deliberate', 'stillness'.

2. Black out remaining text 6 minutes

   Instruct participants to take their dark marker and cross out, block, or shade over all uncircled words, lines, and margins. Only the chosen words remain untouched. Anyone finished early may shade solid blocks or add simple geometric borders.

3. Pair or trio read-around 3 minutes

   Participants turn to a neighbor and read their surviving words aloud once. If the room has an odd number of people, form one group of three. If someone prefers not to read aloud, they may show their page or simply listen to their partner.

4. Whole-room shares and debrief 2 minutes

   Invite two or three volunteers to read their poems aloud to the whole room. Then ask one reflection question to conclude the session.

Debrief questions

• What changed about your reading pace once you started searching only for words to keep?
• How did the original topic of the text either limit or inspire what your poem became?

Finished output: A redacted text sheet showing an original short poem readable left to right and top to bottom.

Remote

Distribute the source text block in a shared document or chat. Participants copy it into their private notes or slides. To redact, participants highlight their 5 to 15 chosen words and either delete all remaining unchosen words or apply a black background fill over them. Form breakout pairs (with one trio if total attendance is odd) for the two-minute share. Two volunteers paste their poems into the main room chat.

Hybrid

Provide in-person attendees with printed pages and markers. Provide remote attendees with the digital text snippet. In-person participants pair with table neighbors; remote participants pair in video breakout rooms. If either group has an odd headcount, form one trio in that setting. Take one volunteer poem from the physical room and one from the chat.

Access and participation choices

• Participants may underline selected words or use a highlighter instead of filling heavy black ink if marker fumes or fine motor fatigue are concerns.
• Sharing aloud is strictly optional; anyone may decline, display the sheet silently, or simply listen.

If the session gets stuck

A participant accidentally blacks out a word they intended to keep.

Invite them to continue with the remaining words or lightly pencil the missing word directly above the blackout mark.

Participants worry that their result does not qualify as real poetry.

Remind the room that the exercise is an experiment in subtraction and discovery, not rhyme or formal verse.

Terms used here

• Blackout Poetry: A form of found poetry where words on an existing printed page are preserved while the rest of the text is obscured or inked out.