Can you make something by erasing something?
I thought of this while listening to a recent episode of Poetry Off the Shelf.
The host and his guest were discussing erasure poetry. It works like this. You take an eraser, a marker, or a bottle of Wite-Out and selectively eliminate words from a piece of writing until something entirely new appears on the page.
It’s an interesting concept.
So often we wrack our brains trying to generate new ideas.
Perhaps there are some lying hidden in things already made.
Stripped Down Innovation
Imagine a landscape painting stripped down to its scattered rocks or smattering of bushes. What patterns would you find?
Think about a movie with the speaking parts on the cutting room floor.
Or consider a business plan whittled down to its bones with only its most essential products and services, marketing messages, and distribution channels remaining.
What would you have? Something more manageable, easier to understand, and thus easier to sell? I don’t know, but you have to admit it’s an intriguing question.
Evolution Is Both Addition and Subtraction
Erasure’s been on my mind. This blog is evolving. Part of that involves eliminating things that don’t work.
For months, not knowing what to do, I threw everything I had at it. I imitated things I’d seen elsewhere and did a few things of my own as well. I posted poems, quotes, series, short pieces, long articles, and images. I rejoiced, I ranted, I waxed poetic and waned pathetic.
But I’m starting to understand what works here, and that means there are some things I no longer have to attempt because they simply don’t matter to me or you or any of my other readers.
What You’re Left With Is Something New and Useable
Also, before the year ended, I wrote the rough draft of a book. When I finished, I realized I was struggling to make it fit a standard I’d created based on books I’d seen on shelves at my local book store.
But that standard was just an average. A closer look at the shelves reveals that books, like blogs, come in all shapes, sizes, and formats. There’s ample room for things atypical.
Now, I’m trying to make this blog and the book I’m writing more useful by erasing what isn’t. I’m trying to provide more through the use of fewer words, shorter pieces, and simple images. When the book is finished, it will be a reflection, not a complication, of what I’m doing here.
Today’s image is a scanned print out of my poem, Too Much Information. I took out a marker, took words away, and created something new, a poem entitled Too Much. There was nothing wrong with the original. I’ve simply created something new and, at least to me, kind of interesting.
What’s Hidden In YOUR Project?
Take a piece of your own work and see if there isn’t something hidden in it, something you’ve never noticed before, something unexpected and perhaps even greater than the original. Who knows what you’ll find?
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