Most people associate poetry with fear. Turns out, it is an international phenomenon that certain literature teachers have a fascination with poetry recitals in class. At the mention of a poem, you are transported back to that one time when you stood up in front of the board and stuttered something some poet from a hundred-plus years ago wrote for an event or a person of such insignificance to you that left you wondering why poetry exists in the first place.

Yet it is through poetry that we learn about the humanness of all those historical figures we only know something about during a history test. Through poetry, we learn about the human condition and the interconnectedness of all people, regardless of when and where they lived. Through poetry, we share the deepest and darkest of emotions and conceal messages meant for only one person. “Poetry, beauty, love … these are the things we live for,” says Robin Williams’s character, Mr. Keating, in the poetry-buffs’ favorite movie, Dead Poets Society.

However, it is true that poetry is not the most accessible form of writing. It does take determination and even a skill to be able to read poetry and understand and enjoy it. Not many people have the time or even the appropriate resources to hone this skill. But they also deserve to be able to express themselves through metaphors and similes and rhyme. There exists one form of poetry that allows for a greater number of people to participate in the creation of poems without the pressure and fear of the blank page and the writer’s block — blackout poetry.

Blackout poetry is a form of "found poetry," which involves discovering meaning in pre-existing texts rather than starting from scratch. Its origins are traced back to the 1700s, but it has become quite popular after the introduction of blogging platforms like tumblr or even Pinterest. It is also used as a therapeutic exercise for healing from trauma. There is an abundance of examples of blackout poetry online precisely because it fits the format of the content we share through social media and because anybody can create a blackout poem from any preexisting text. For this first issue of the poetry column, NYU Abu Dhabi students created blackout poetry pieces and some of the submissions are highlighted below. Turns out that the physics book that’s been stressing you out all semester can create art!

Yana Peeva, Class of 2026. Source Text: Engineering Circuit Analysis by Hayt, Kemmerly and Durbin.

Roudha Almarzooqi, Class of 2026. Source Text: Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard