I’m not sure if it will fly or not, but so many people have expressed interest in these things that I’ve decided to create a blog dedicated solely to them. There’s going to be a “Challenge of the Week,” and also an “open submissions” feature where I’ll post really good stuff people send me.
newspaperblackoutpoems.blogspot.com
Check it out. Spread the word! Send me your poems!
blackoutpoems [at] gmail [dot] com
In honor of my brilliant wife who just got into graduate school, here is one of HER blackout poems:
This comic is by Ellen Forney. It’s part of her excellent collection, I Love Led Zeppelin, which you should read.
At the moment I’m really interested in comics’ potential for integrating fictional and non-fictional elements into one narrative. For example, if you were writing a short story about a hand surgeon, it’s hard to imagine reading paragraphs about the intricacies and fine points of reattaching digits without falling asleep. But with comics, it seems totally reasonable that something like the above might be part of a larger story, seemlessly integrated, and really engaging. (I should note that this is a standalone page, and NOT part of a larger narrative. But if COULD be.)
More on this later, maybe. In the meantime, check out Ellen’s blog.
You’d think from looking at my recent entries that I’d abandoned comics. Not so! This is the title panel from a new piece of autobifictionalography I’m working on. It’s a father/son, brother/brother story about taking 4-H pigs to the county fair. I’m really stoked about it, and no, it doesn’t have anything to do with the book, which might be why I like it.
While I’m carving out this stuff, I keep a legal pad beside me so I can doodle ideas. Here are some pig doodles:
That number is the ISBN for Anders Nilsen‘s DON’T GO WHERE I CAN’T FOLLOW, which I’m planning on ordering soon. His recent comic, THE END, was outstanding.
One thing I’ve learned: the business section makes for the worst poems. Go for the Arts or Metro.
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