IMPROMPTU #117: Erasure Exercise
““The impulse to write things down is a peculiarly compulsive one, inexplicable to those who do not share it, useful only accidentally, only secondarily, in the way that any compulsion tries to justify itself. I suppose that it begins or does not begin in the cradle. Although I have felt compelled to write things down since I was five years old, I doubt that my daughter ever will, for she is a singularly blessed and accepting child, delighted with life exactly as life presents itself to her, unafraid to go to sleep and unafraid to wake up. Keepers of private notebooks are a different breed altogether, lonely and resistant rearrangers of things, anxious malcontents, children afflicted apparently at birth with some presentiment of loss.” ”
Write an erasure poem or flash fiction piece, using the above text. How it works:
1. Copy and paste the above text into your word processor. Erase any words, letters, punctuation. Use the remaining words or letters to form your poem or story. The words should take on new shapes, new context, new meaning.
2. Do not change the order or words or letters.
3. Give it a title (doesn't have to be words from the text).
4. Send it to me! (Optional, of course, but I'd love to see what you come up with.)
