A Page Against the Machine: Erasure Poems

WAR ON BOOKS presents

A PAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE 1: ERASURE POEMS

Comrades and creatives, authors and artists, join us on Saturday, November 14th at Artisan's Alley in Roanoke for the inaugural session of our brand new writing workshop series for the proletarieat — A Page Against the Machine: Erasure Poems.

"Erasure poetry, the most common form of which is also called blackout poetry, is a poetic form in which a poet blacks out or in some way erases words from a preexisting source to create new poems.

Erasure poetry comes in several forms other than blackout poetry. Poet Erin Dorney identified six styles of erasure poetry: blackout; crossout, crossing out words to create a new poem; computer, using computer software to add or remove lines; cut out, using a knife to cut words out of paper; covered up, covering up the original text with another material (paper, sand, rice, etc.); and retyped, retyping the original text to make it look like a conventional, traditional poem, leaving space where the original text used to be." — The Poetry Foundation

This workshop will explore the literary technique of erasure, its history, and its utility to respond, resist, and renew by redaction. Local author and educator, Dorian North, will lead participants through a crash course in erasure (with examples/readings by Tracy K. Smith, Cameron Bradley, and more), followed by time to experiment, create, and share as a group!

All participants will receive:

• Admission to the workshop (with access to craft supplies, used books to mark-up/destroy, and more)
• A free PDF with lesson plans, readings, and other info
• One Sharpie marker
• A copy of Dorian North's most recent book, Class.//Less
• One free drink from Bibliopub
• War On Books Gift Card

War On Books will be there with books for sale as well, featuring erasure poetry by Nicole Sealey, M. NourbeSe Philip, and more!

Get your tickets now to reserve your seat!

Tickets: $20/general admission

Saturday, November 14, 4:00-6:00pm

The Artisan's Alley

425 Campbell Avenue SW, B04
Entrance on 5th Street
Roanoke, VA 24016

Dorian North is an educator and published author originally from the UK. Having lived through the Brexit vote and its consequences there, he felt the next logical step would be to move to the US at the height of the COVID pandemic.

His work "Class.//Less" is commentary on political discourse in both countries viewed through a working class, socialist lens.

Dorian's next book is slated for release in mid-2027. He is hoping the world isn't completely on fire by then.

War On Books is an independent, radical bookstore based in Roanoke, Virginia, featuring a curated selection of contemporary commie propaganda from small presses, indie publishers, activist organizations, and universities from around the world.

The Artisan's Alley — Local artisans, craft classes, and quirky community in the heart of Roanoke.