Writing Poetry
8 Types of Found Poetry to Try
From Cut-Ups to Erasures, Using Found Text is a Way to Experiment
“The poem is our objective, the secret at the heart of the matter.” — William Carlos Williams
Found poetry is an umbrella term that covers any poem created by using an external source text. The options for source texts are limitless and can include a variety of materials such as newspapers, books, magazines, street art, other poems, advertisements, propaganda, online media, and even Twitter posts. Essentially, any written material that can be reorganized, edited, or transformed can be used to create a completely new and unique poem.
Poetry derived from found sources has a rich history dating back to the very beginning of writing. Throughout time, artists have engaged in a continual dialogue with one another, modifying, revising, and removing elements from each other’s work.
It’s easy to see how using a found text can lead to commenting on that text. By the nature of working with a text, we are admitting as writers that something about that original piece fascinates us, frustrates us, or has some deeper meaning.
“Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal…
