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This is my playground for poetry written for children with ideas and inspiration for writing your own poems. Come on in. Sit for a spell, have a cup of words to swirl around and make your own cup of poetry. I'm so glad you are here. I hope you'll find the Kingdom of Poetry a fun place to be.

Friday, July 7, 2017


copyright 2017, Robyn Hood Black


Happy Poetry Friday!

I'm feeling the lazy days of summer.  How about you?
One of the ways I keep myself growing and moving through the summer is to participate in the Summer Poetry Swap.  Last week I received my first poem from Robyn Hood Black.  Robyn is one of the most creative poets I have ever met.  I think one of the reasons I enjoy knowing Robyn is because she loves writing haiku even more than I do.

Her poem:

Light-givers,
like moon
ripples of molten silver,
appear 
to romancers
of the pen
in words.

(I love the pearl button Robyn used to illustrate the moon.)
Do you like the words Light-givers and romancers?

When I went to Poets Camp at Western Washington University last fall, Robyn presented a workshop for us on erasure poems.  She provided all the materials so we each could make our own poem.
To make an erasure poem, you start with a sheet of text.  It could be a page from an old paperback novel, or a magazine.  

Read the page several times to see if any words jump out to you.  Then carefully see if you can select a few words from the page to make a poem.

Next erase, mark out, blackout, or paint out all the other words. (Robyn had us cut little sticky tabs to cover our chosen words and then we used rubber stamp, or a sponge and ink pad to cover up all the other words.

What you are left with is your erasure poem, because you have erased everything but the words of your poem.

As you can see from Robyn's poem, she adds glitter and embellishments to make a piece of art from her poem.  You can find more of Robyn's art at her Etsy shop here. 

Can you try making an erasure poem today?  You can find out more about erasure or blackout poems here. Have fun playing with words and text.

You can find more poetry at the Poetry Friday Roundup, hosted by Carol Varsalona on her blog Beyond Literacy here

Have a great weekend.

10 comments:

  1. Yes, yes, and yes! I love the pearl button moon and Robyn's words and art are exquisite. I will definitely look into making an erasure poem. Thanks Joy!

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  2. Fun mix of words and images in Robyn's collaged poem, it reminds me of a surrealist panting. Thanks for sharing her poem Joy!

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  3. I've created a few, and now you, and Robyn, make me want to do it again, Joy. It's a beautiful moon poem, just right for the coming full moon! Thanks for sharing, Joy.

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  4. I love this poem Nd.the button for a moon. I will think of it tonight as I look at the full moon.

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  5. Thanks for sharing, Joy - I loved making this for you from the vintage book you gave me a while back. :0). Thanks to commenters, too - sorry I'm late to the party, but I was on road Fri & Sat after my mother's surgery this week. Happy weekending!

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    1. What a great gift of an erasure poem personalized by a button you presented to Joy, Robyn. I hope all is well with your mother, post-surgery.

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  6. Oh, what a fun activity, and a great way to refresh my creative juices.

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  7. Joy, thank you for sharing this wonderful gift of words. The artistry involved is definitely something I would like to try.

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  8. Erasures are fun, and I love Robyn's creations. Thanks for sharing today!

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  9. Thanks for all the kind words, friends - and thanks, Carol. My mom is doing well!

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