Introduction

Erasure poetry, a form of found poetry, thrives on the tension between absence and presence, destruction and creation. By selectively redacting or obscuring text from existing sources-newspapers, novels, bureaucratic documents-poets craft new narratives while leaving behind the ghostly imprint of the original. At its core, erasure poetry is a negotiation between two opposing forces: chance and intentionality. This intersection shapes the creative process, challenging artists to balance serendipity with deliberate design.

The Role of Chance in Erasure

Randomness is an unavoidable collaborator in erasure-based work. The source material-a book page, a diary entry, or a legal decree-carries its own history, vocabulary, and rhythm. Even the most rigid creative constraints cannot fully anticipate what words will remain visible after the act of erasure. Poets often discover unexpected phrases that resonate with subconscious thoughts or unintended themes. For instance, a blacked-out newspaper might reveal a haunting commentary on politics or identity, shaped by the accidents of the text's structure and the poet's eye.

Chance also enters the process through the physical act of erasure. A brushstroke might accidentally blend two words into a new compound meaning, or a tear in the page could fragment a sentence in ways the artist hadn't planned. These moments of unpredictability force poets to adapt, inviting a dialogue between control and spontaneity.

Case Study: Tom Phillips' A Humument

British artist Tom Phillips' decades-long project A Humument exemplifies this duality. Using a forgotten Victorian novel, Phillips reimagined its narrative through intricate redactions and visual interventions. While his thematic choices were intentional-exploring obsession, decay, and rebirth-many of the poem's surreal juxtapositions emerged from the source text's inherent randomness. Phillips' work demonstrates how chance can become a co-author, guiding the artist into uncharted creative territory.

Intentionality in Sculpting Meaning

Despite the influence of chance, erasure poetry is ultimately an act of curation. The artist decides what to erase, what to preserve, and how to frame the result. These choices are deeply intentional, reflecting thematic goals, aesthetic priorities, and emotional resonance. A poet working with a war memoir might methodically excise descriptions of violence to highlight moments of humanity, while another might erase a romantic novel to expose its underlying power dynamics.

Intention also governs the physical tools of erasure. Whether using a Sharpie to blackout text, a knife to cut away words, or digital tools to remove content pixel by pixel, the artist's method shapes the final piece. For example, Jen Bervin's Nets employs a strict grid to erase Shakespeare's sonnets, transforming the remaining words into minimalist elegies about loss and absence. The grid's rigidity contrasts with the fluidity of the resulting poems, proving that structure and randomness are not mutually exclusive.

Case Study: Jen Bervin's Nets

In Nets, Bervin erases Shakespeare's sonnets to create poems that echo the original's emotional core while critiquing its patriarchal undertones. Though the sonnets' fixed structure introduces an element of chance-Bervin must work within the confines of the existing line breaks and meter-her deliberate use of erasure as feminist critique underscores the power of intentionality. The project demonstrates how constraints can amplify creativity, turning limitation into liberation.

The Interplay Between Chance and Intention

The most compelling erasure works arise from the dynamic interplay of these forces. Chance provides raw material, while intention imbues it with meaning. This duality mirrors broader artistic processes: Even in traditional writing, unexpected metaphors or characters often emerge from the subconscious, guided by the writer's purpose.

Poets like Jen Craig, who revisits historical texts to interrogate colonialism and memory, exemplify this balance. Her work begins with rigorous research to find texts that align with her themes, yet the act of erasure often reveals connections she hadn't anticipated. Craig's practice illustrates how intention sets the stage for chance to unfold, creating a feedback loop between artist and material.

Conclusion

Erasure poetry is a testament to the symbiotic relationship between randomness and intentionality. While the source text's accidents and the artist's tools shape the outcome, the poet's vision remains central. Through this alchemy of obliteration and preservation, erasure artists prove that even in an age of digital abundance, creativity often emerges from what we choose-or are forced-to leave behind.

Whether through the accidental discovery of a resonant phrase or the deliberate crafting of a political statement, erasure poetry reminds us that art is not a static act of creation but a fluid negotiation between control and surrender.