Erasure in Print: Notable Anthologies and Celebrated Works

Introduction

Erasure poetry, a genre where artists transform existing texts by removing words to create new meaning, has gained recognition for its inventive interplay of absence and presence. This article explores seminal anthologies and standout collections that highlight the form's evolution, creativity, and literary significance.

Notable Erasure Poetry Collections

1. A Little White Shadow by Mary Ruefle

This groundbreaking collection reimagines passages from 19th-century medical textbooks by erasing text with white-out, leaving sparse, haunting verses. Ruefle's work exemplifies how erasure can bridge historical and emotional landscapes, blending vulnerability with visual artistry.

2. Nets by Jen Bervin

Bervin's erasures of Shakespeare's sonnets are both conceptual and tactile, using silk-screened gauze to "net" words from the original texts. The result is a dialogue between love, loss, and the materiality of language, merging poetry with textile art.

3. The Desert by Blaise Cendrars (Erasure Edition by Apollinaire)

A historical milestone, this 1919 erasure of Cendrars' prose by Guillaume Apollinaire is often cited as one of the earliest modern examples. The fragmented blocks of text mirror cubist aesthetics, opening doors for erasure's role in avant-garde movements.

Anthologies That Define the Genre

1. The Daedalus Book of American Erasure Poetry (Ed. Mary Ruefle)

A curated journey through contemporary American erasure, this anthology features poets like Jen Bervin, Jen Tynes, and Kristy Bowen. Each contributor interprets the form uniquely, from newspaper redactions to diary excavations, underscoring erasure's versatility.

2. The Best of the Net Anthology (Annual Compilation)

A recurring showcase of experimental work, this anthology frequently includes erasure poetry that pushes boundaries. The 2020 edition highlighted Claudia Cortese's redacted horror novels, which interrogate gender violence through minimalist, chilling verse.

3. Found Poetry Review (Ed. Jessica Piazza & Heather Aimee O'Neill)

Dedicated exclusively to found forms, this journal features erasures that repurpose everything from legal documents to social media threads. Its annual anthology, such as Cleaning the Mirror, emphasizes the genre's urgency in addressing societal and personal anxieties.

Honorable Mentions

The Body Electric by Jessica Piazza: Redacts historical medical texts on female "hysteria," blending feminist critique with lyrical precision.
Pop-Up Art by Ronald Wimberly: Uses hip-hop lyrics and anime scripts to create kinetic, multilingual erasures that explore diaspora and identity.
PORN-OK-RA-SY by Karen Lillis: A provocative reworking of Jean Rhys' Wide Sargasso Sea, interrogating colonialism and madness through surreal, fragmented language.

Conclusion

Erasure poetry thrives as a medium for both aesthetic and political commentary, the works above illustrating its power to resurrect forgotten voices while challenging readers to "see" between the lines. These collections and anthologies affirm the genre's place in the literary canon, inviting continual reinvention.