{"id":12660,"date":"2015-02-03T08:39:26","date_gmt":"2015-02-03T00:39:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/?p=12660"},"modified":"2015-02-03T10:16:47","modified_gmt":"2015-02-03T02:16:47","slug":"write-a-newspaper-blackout-poetry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifestinymiracles.com\/2015\/02\/write-a-newspaper-blackout-poetry\/","title":{"rendered":"Write a Newspaper Blackout Poetry!"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As part of the year-long Singapore Writer’s Festival 2015, Words Go Round<\/a><\/strong> (a platform which brings Singapore and international writers into schools to meet and interact with students and teachers) is launching a whole new host of\u00a0exciting talks and workshops for schools and the public from 2 to 14 March 2015.\u00a0<\/b>This year, something of\u00a0interest is the\u00a0<\/b>first ever\u00a0Newspaper Blackout Poetry<\/b>\u00a0writing contest.<\/span><\/p>\n Inspired by poet and cartoonist Austin Kleon<\/em>, this contest challenges students to be creative with newspapers by blacking out a poem. Participants will be required to black out the unwanted words and leave the unmarked words in the newspaper article to form a brand new poem<\/strong>. Entries in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil are accepted. Winning entries in each language category and age group will receive $300 Kinokuniya book vouchers. Merit prizes comprising $100 book vouchers will also be given out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Submissions can be made for these three age categories:<\/p>\n Junior (7 to 11 years old) | Youth (12 to 15 years old) |\u00a0Senior (16 to 19 years old)<\/p>\n *An example<\/strong><\/a> of a \u201cblacked out\u201d poem can be found on the website<\/strong><\/a>. <\/i>Submit your poem online<\/a> <\/strong>before 5 February 2015<\/strong>.<\/p>\n We tried our hand at our first\u00a0‘Blacked Out Poem’ last night with this news article which I had cut out from Saturday’s Straits Times.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I had it photocopied, read it through once with\u00a0Dana and asked her to circle\u00a0some words from the article which she thinks can be used to form a poem. Then once she’s decided, she crossed out all other unwanted words with a pencil (Tip: Using a pencil helps as she can erase when she changes her mind). After several revisions, she was satisfied with this final product:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Spring<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Bright and colourful gardens<\/em><\/p>\n Housed dazzling beauties<\/em><\/p>\n Chrysanthemum, daisy, marigold, dahlias<\/em><\/p>\n Large, vibrant blooms<\/em><\/p>\n Against towering field of golden-hued moss and roses<\/em><\/p>\n Golden shower orchids wrapped around nature<\/em><\/p>\n Spring is fantastic!<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we’ve never attempted Newspaper Blackout Poetry before, it does seem daunting at first as I was\u00a0unsure how the girl would take to it. But it proved to be achievable and fun to set aside time to indulge in word play with our\u00a0newly-minted P1 daughter\u00a0who has discovered\u00a0the beauty of the written language (she has read 15 books from the school library in the last 2 weeks!). \u00a0I was quite amazed how an expository piece can be transformed into a short and sweet poem. I hope this exercise will motivate Dana (and all kids) to start dabbling\u00a0in some creative writing!<\/p>\n Apart from the poetry writing contest, here are some events which may be of interest:<\/p>\n 1. \u00a0\u201cForest Fables<\/strong><\/a>\u201d storytelling workshop by Kamini Ramachandran –\u00a0for children ages 4 to 9 (FREE). \u00a0Be prepared to be enthralled by professional storyteller Kamini Ramachandran as she takes you on a rollicking journey \u2013 one in which you encounter animals from lands far beyond. Welcome to a fantastical world where animals speak and tricksters rule.<\/span><\/p>\n 2. \u201cFun with Opera<\/strong><\/a>\u201d by Susanna Goho-Quek –\u00a0for children ages 4 to 9 (FREE).\u00a0Colourful opera costumes, beating drums and clashing cymbals! Join Susanna-Goho-Quek for an interactive session based on Fun at the Opera, a tale of the dramatic delights found in Chinese Opera. After reading and singing along, kids will even get a chance to colour their very own opera masks.<\/span><\/p>\n