Reading Darkness: Blackout Poetry as a Creative Approach for English Language Learning
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63310/edu.2026.2.58679Keywords:
art in education, blackout poetry, language learning, literature, poetryAbstract
Blackout poetry is a creative form in which poets compose poems by selecting and highlighting words from another text. This process, often accompanied by artistic visual illustrations, involves an elaborate interaction with language, art, poetry, and social commentary. Even though blackout poetry has gained attention in academia over the last decade, research on this topic is limited, particularly its applications within English Language Teaching (ELT). The aim of this study is to examine existing scholarly research on blackout poetry to answer the following research question: What defining features of blackout poetry are identified in scholarly literature? The results of the literature review are contextualized through the lens of English language learning, positioning blackout poetry as a valuable practice for linguistic, literary, and sociocultural engagement. Employing a systematic search to collect the literature and a thematic analysis to examine major themes, this paper discusses the potential of blackout poetry to promote resistance, to enable reflection, and to create opportunities for learning. The analysis concludes that blackout poetry can be a valuable pedagogical practice for English language learners, supporting literary competence, language exploration, and sociopolitical discourse.
References
Allen, A. A., & Simon, R. (2021). Unsettling a canonical text through erasure poetry. English Journal, 110(5), 45–52. doi: 10.58680/ej202131226 DOI: https://doi.org/10.58680/ej202131226
Alvi, A., & Alvi, R. (2019). Text, reader & pedagogy: A reflection upon teaching English poetry to EFL female students at a Saudi Arabian university. Arab World English Journal, 1, 154–169. doi: 10.24093/awej/efl1.12 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/efl1.12
Aristotle. (n.d.). Ποιητική [Poetics]. (D. Lipourlis, Trans.). Ψηφίδες για την ελληνική γλώσσα [Psifides yia tin elliniki ylossa]. Retrieved November 22, 2023, from https://www.greek-language.gr/digitalResources/ancient_greek/library/browse.html?page=1&text_id=76
Barry, P. (2017). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory. Manchester University Press.
Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1997). Writing narrative literature reviews. Review of General Psychology, 1(3), 311–320. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.1.3.311
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa DOI: https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Cheng, J. S. (2016). Erasure Poetry: A revealing (ii). Jacket 2. https://jacket2.org/commentary/erasure-poetry-revealing-ii
Coyle, S.J. (2023). Redact to react: Deconstructing justice with erasure poetry. Liverpool Law Review, 44(3), 359–384. doi: 10.1007/s10991-023-09346-6 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10991-023-09346-6
Culler, J. (2002). Structuralist poetics. Routlege. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/actrade/9780192801593.003.0007
Dewey, J. (1994). Art as experience. In S.D. Ross (Ed.) Art and its significance: An anthology of aesthetic theory (3rd ed., pp. 203–220). State University of New York. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.18254729.29
Dunning, S., & Stafford, W. (1992). Getting the knack: 20 poetry writing exercises 20. National Council of Teachers of English.
Effinger, E. (2022). Embracing the “workshop of filthy creation.” Pedagogy, 22(2), 229–252. doi: 10.1215/15314200-9576415 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1215/15314200-9576415
Faulkner, S. L. (2023). Setting the agenda: Poetic inquiry as critical family communication methodology. Journal of Family Communication, 23(1), 75–87. doi: 10.1080/15267431.2023.2181350 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2023.2181350
Férez Mora, P. A., & Coyle, Y. (2020). Poetry for EFL: Exploring change in undergraduate students’ perceptions. Porta Linguarum Revista Interuniversitaria de Didáctica de Las Lenguas Extranjeras, 33, 231–247. doi: 10.30827/portalin.vi33.26657 DOI: https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi33.26657
Gómez, M. (2022). Engaging with historically marginalized voices through blackout poetry. Social Studies Research and Practice, 17(2), 218–228. doi: 10.1108/SSRP-06-2022-0018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/SSRP-06-2022-0018
Hall, G. (2015). Literature in Language Education. Palgrave Macmillan UK. doi: 10.1057/9781137331847 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137331847
Høeg Karlsen, K. (Ed.). (2020). Teaching through stories: Renewing the Scottish storyline approach in teacher education. Waxmann Verlag GmbH. doi: 10.31244/9783830989868 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31244/9783830989868
Howard, K. (2018). Influence poetry and found poetry: The reflection of creative writing pedagogy in the verse novel for young yeaders. The Lion and the Unicorn, 42(2), 218–237. doi: 10.1353/uni.2018.0019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/uni.2018.0019
Iida, A. (2012). Writing haiku in a second language: Perceptions, attitudes, and emotions of second language learners. David Publishing, 9(9), 1472–1485.
Illeris, H. (2016). Learning bodies engaging with art: Staging aesthetic experiences in museum education. International Journal of Education through Art, 12(2), 153–165. doi: 10.1386/eta.12.2.153_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1386/eta.12.2.153_1
Jawaheer, M. (2023). A self-study of my parallel journey of unlearning and relearning using Blackout poetry in a literature didactics module. Studying Teacher Education, 19(1), 24–43. doi: 10.1080/17425964.2022.2106962 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17425964.2022.2106962
Keith, A. R. (2023). On being ed emcees: Toward hip-hop educational leadership theory, research, and praxis. Equity & Excellence in Education, 56(3), 372–394. doi: 10.1080/10665684.2023.2200207 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10665684.2023.2200207
Khatib, M. (2011). A new approach to teaching English poetry to EFL students. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(1), 164–169. doi: 10.4304/jltr.2.1.164-169 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4304/jltr.2.1.164-169
King, A. D. (2012, November 6). The weight of what’s left [out]: Six contemporary erasurists on their craft. Kenyon review blog. The Kenyon Review. https://kenyonreview.org/2012/11/erasure-collaborative-interview/
Kuru Gönen, S. İ. (2018). Implementing poetry in the language class: A poetry-teaching framework for prospective English language teachers. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 9(5), 28. doi: 10.7575/aiac.alls.v.9n.5p.28 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.9n.5p.28
Ladenheim, M. (2014). Engaging honors students through newspaper blackout poetry. Honors in Practice, 10, 45–53.
Lee, C. C., Dufresne, K. V., & Relyea, J. E. (2021). “They are doers”: Writing to advocate with immigrant youth in community‐based organizations. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 64(5), 497–509. doi: 10.1002/jaal.1131 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/jaal.1131
Lovat, T. (2013). Jürgen Habermas: Education’s reluctant hero. In M. Murphy (Ed.), Social theory and education research: Understanding Foucault, Habermas, Bourdieu and Derrida (pp. 69–83). Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780203557686 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203557686
Mart, C. T. (2017). Literary texts: A means to promote language proficiency of upper-intermediate level EFL students. Journal of Education in Black Sea Region, 2(2). doi: 10.31578/jebs.v2i2.41 DOI: https://doi.org/10.31578/jebs.v2i2.41
McGillis, R. (1985). Literary incompetence. Children’s Literature Association Quarterly, 10(3), 144–145. doi: 10.1353/chq.0.0417 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/chq.0.0417
Morales-Rodas, L. Y., Galimberti, J. V., Cerda-Solís, G. M., & Riera-Guachichullca, E. J. (2021). Blackout poetry: Re-envisioning writing strategy in English learning. Polo del Conocimiento, 6(3), 246–266. doi: 10.23857/pc.v6i3.2361
Nelson, C., Broom, S., Sisaket, L., & Orphan, C. (2022). Imagining decolonial desires of the public good. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, 35(5), 456–477. doi: 10.1080/09518398.2021.2003890 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2021.2003890
Oxford University Press. (n.d.). Blackout. In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Retrieved January 29, 2024, from https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/blackout
Pindyck, M. (2017). Teaching literacy as and through erasure. The National Council of Teachers of English, 106(5), 58–63. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58680/ej201729096
Ramser, E. (2020). This ocean of texts: The history of blackout poetry. https://hdl.handle.net/11274/12438
Rosenblatt, L. M. (1994). The reader, the text, the poem: The transactional theory of the literary work. Southern Illinois University Press; Feffer & Simons.
Sulastri, F., Sri, M., & Belkis, S. A. (2023). Killing two birds with a stone: Merging reading and writing activities through blackout poetry. Premise: Journal of English Education, 12(2), 580–593. doi: 10.24127/pj.v12i2.7008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24127/pj.v12i2.7008
Torell, Ö. (2001). Literary competence beyond conventions. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 45(4), 369–379. doi: 10.1080/00313830120096770 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00313830120096770
Tsang, A., & Paran, A. (2021). Learners’ views of literature in EFL education from curricular and assessment perspectives. The Curriculum Journal, 32(3), 459–474. doi: 10.1002/curj.102 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/curj.102
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Chrysiida Psarri
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
