I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading, which I justify to myself (and my family) by saying that the more I read, the better writer I’ll be.

Recently, I came across two writers who create their writing by rearranging or subtracting words from what they’ve read. I know this sounds kind of post-deconstructionist, but the resulting new works are absolutely unique.

First, there’s Newspaper Blackout Poems from the wonderfully named Austin Kleon. He is a writer, cartoonist and designer who does pretty much what the name implies — he writes his poems by removing words from newspaper articles. The results are sparse, interesting to read and to look at, and have a real presence, because what is said is as important as what was removed.

Working in a similar vein is British artist-writer Graham Rawle, who wrote an entire novel, Woman’s World, by clipping phrases from 60’s women’s magazines and collaging them together. The book is as beautiful to look at as it is to read and contains classic lines like “At her feet, a small, highly strung poodle wriggled and worried itself into a rich, creamy lather.” Nice! New York magazine published an article about it where Rawle dissects a page from the novel. After reading it I had to marvel at the obsessive nature of its creation and at the ability of some readers, writers and artists to see beyond what’s there in front of them.

Steven Stark is a writer and creative director who has a small problem with collecting books. You can see his work and read some of his other musings here.

Article Tags: austin kleon | collage | copywriter | creative director | graham rawle | new york magazine | newspaper blackout poems | Steven Stark | woman's world
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