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Erasure poem

Form
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A poem created by selectively removing words from an existing text

Detailed Definition
Erasure poem is created by selectively deleting words from an existing text (e.g., a novel, legal document, or newspaper), leaving a new poem in the remaining words; it critiques source material while generating meaning through absence, silence, and redaction.
Example
Example in poetry:
Tom Phillips’s “A Humument” erases pages of Victorian novel to create new poems; Tracy K. Smith’s “The United States Welcomes You” uses erasure from government documents; Erasure poem from “Declaration of Independence” yields “Declaration”; The form reveals hidden texts through strategic omission.
Additional Notes
Poem created by removing words from existing text, revealing new meaning. Found poetry technique. Erasure leaves visible traces. Related: blackout poetry, found poetry. Try: systematic vs. intuitive erasure.
Also Known As
Blackout poem Redacted verse Found poetry Selective erasure invisible verse gap poetry lacuna lyric
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