BLACKOUT POETRY

W I T H P H I L A D E L P H I A F A M I L Y P R I D E

by charlotte masters

C   O N T E X T U A L I Z A T I O N

Using blog posts written by various Philadelphia Family Pride (PFP) members

through the years, i created a series of "blackout poems," defined by poets.org as

"a form of found poetry wherein a poet takes an existing text and erases, blacks out, or otherwise obscures a large portion of the text, creating a wholly new

work from what remains. [it] may be used as a means of collaboration, creating

a new text from an old one and thereby starting a dialogue between the two, or as a means of confrontation, a challenge to a pre-existing text."

in doing so, i attempted to draw out themes from the interview i conducted

with a PFP parent and former board member. the parent, now father to a newly 5 year old son, pursued adoption as a means to start a family with his partner.

before, during, and after that process, themes of community, identity, choice, control, and pride.

the following poems attempt to capture some of the emotions, experiences, and feelings behind the digitized content created by PFP. i find this particularly

important to convey, as the organization itself does not have a physical space

of its own and, rather, relies on technology to organize and operate, a medium which can oftentimes flatten and mute those same emotions, experiences and feelings.

enjoy. and reflect.