Begins Wednesday, July 22, 2026

Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Wednesdays, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET

🌍 Class Times by Time Zone: Los Angeles (PDT): 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM / Chicago (CDT): 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM / New York (EDT): 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM 

Now Enrolling! Any questions about this class? Use the Chat Button to talk with us.

Instructor Bio

Instructor Alicia Cook is a multi-award-winning writer and mental health and addiction awareness advocate based in Newark, New Jersey. Her writing often focuses on addiction, mental health, hope, and grief – sometimes all at once. She is the poet behind Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately (2016, Goodreads Choice Awards Finalist), I Hope My Voice Doesn't Skip (2018), Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back (2020, Goodreads Choice Awards Semi-Finalist), The Music Was Just Getting Good (2024), and More Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately (2026). In 2025, her work found new life through two distinct artistic adaptations: her debut poetry collection, Stuff I've Been Feeling Lately, was transformed into a song cycle that premiered in Saratoga Springs, NY, while her viral poem "Sorry I Haven't Texted You Back" was reimagined as a contemporary dance performance in Plainfield, NJ. Her work has also been published in numerous anthologies and outlets, including Rattle, HuffPost, The New York Times, and Writer's Digest. In 2025, it was announced that her poem "The Squirrel Made His Way" was the Winner of the 2026 Central Avenue Poetry Prize.

Who is this class for?

This course is for beginning-to-intermediate poets and curious writers who want to explore blackout poetry as both a generative tool and a standalone poetic form. Ideal students are those interested in hands-on experimentation, the history and ethics of erasure, and using found texts—from personal writing to political speech—to create bold, resonant new work.

What to expect:

Blackout poetry is more than crossing out words with a Sharpie — it is a dynamic poetic form with a rich lineage, a complex ethical framework, and enormous creative potential. In this beginning-to-intermediate, hands-on online writing class, students will explore blackout and erasure poetry as both a generative practice and a standalone genre.

Led by Alicia Cook, a bestselling poet published by Andrews McMeel Publishing and known for her popular "mixtape" poetry series — in which nearly 50% of the work is created through self-erasure of her own previously written poems — this creative writing workshop offers a rare opportunity to study the form with a working writer who has successfully brought experimental techniques into commercially published books.

Particular attention will be paid to how blackout poetry reframes language — revealing hidden narratives within existing texts and transforming public speech into intimate art. Students will receive actionable craft feedback in a supportive workshop setting and leave with a portfolio of new work, a repeatable creative process, and a deeper understanding of how erasure can function as both aesthetic choice and artistic statement. This online poetry workshop is ideal for poets and curious writers who want to expand their formal toolbox, challenge traditional notions of authorship, and engage directly with language as material. No prior experience with blackout poetry is required.

What are the writing goals?

In this course, students will generate 4–6 polished blackout or erasure poems using a range of source materials, including personal writing, published texts, and public speech. Through guided exercises and workshop discussion, students will develop a repeatable blackout process, experiment with self-erasure as a revision strategy, and gain a working understanding of the history and ethics of the form. By the end of the course, each participant will leave with a small portfolio of finished work, a deeper command of erasure as a standalone poetic genre, and practical tools to continue incorporating blackout techniques into their broader writing practice.

Readings

Readings may include excerpts from:

• Make Blackout Poetry: Turn These Pages into Poems by John Carroll
• The Music Was Just Getting Good by Alicia Cook

COURSE OUTLINE

Week 1: Foundations of Blackout. Form, History, and First Drafts. Focus: What Blackout Poetry Is (and Isn't)

Week 2: Craft Under Constraint. Focus: Technique, Voice, and Structure

Week 3: Self-Erasure as Radical Revision. Focus: Erasing Your Own Work

Week 4: Reframing the Public Voice. Focus: Cultural and Political Texts

COURSE TAKEAWAYS:

• Produce a Portfolio of Original Work: Generate 4–6 completed blackout or erasure poems using varied source materials (personal drafts, published texts, and public language).
• Develop a Repeatable Erasure Process: Learn and refine a step-by-step blackout method, from text selection and pattern recognition to visual composition and line integrity, that students can continue using independently.
• Master Self-Erasure as Radical Revision: Experiment with erasing previously written work as a craft tool, discovering how subtraction can uncover stronger imagery, tension, and emotional clarity.
• Understand the History and Ethics of Erasure: Gain working knowledge of the lineage of erasure and found poetry, along with the ethical considerations of appropriation, authorship, and source material, enabling students to make intentional, informed artistic choices.
• Strengthen Craft Through Constraint: Sharpen skills in concision, image selection, pacing, and tonal control by working within the constraint-based structure of blackout poetry.
• Expand Their Formal Toolbox: Leave with practical strategies for integrating erasure into larger projects, from standalone poems to full-length manuscripts, and a deeper confidence in experimental form as both artistic and publishable work.

PAYMENT OPTIONS:

Tuition is $330 USD. You can pay for the course in full or use Shop Pay or Affirm to pay over time with equal Monthly Payments. Both options are available at checkout.

ONLINE COURSE STRUCTURE:

• Instructor: Alicia Cook
• Begins Wednesday, July 22, 2026
• Class will meet weekly via Zoom on Wednesdays, 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM ET
• Tuition is $330 USD.