new thought-terms: erasure in literary history

By Ouyang Yu

 AI Overview

Erasure in literary history refers to 
the deliberate removal, obscuring, or striking through of parts of an existing text to create a new work, as well as the sociopolitical act of silencing or omitting voices, experiences, and identities from narratives. As a poetic form, it is a type of found poetry that highlights the relationship between text and absence, often used to reclaim narratives, challenge dominant structures, and amplify marginalized voices. 
Key Aspects of Erasure in Literature:
  • Erasure Poetry & Techniques: This form, which grew in popularity in the 21st century partly due to social media and the "documental turn," involves manipulating a source text. Methods include:
    • Blackout Poetry: Using a black marker to cross out words, leaving only a few visible to create a new poem, as seen in Austin Kleon’s Newspaper Blackout.
    • Palimpsest/Redaction: Fading or partially crossing out text, as seen in Tom Phillips' A Humument.
    • Cut-out: Literally cutting words out of a page.
    • Whiting out: Using correction fluid to remove text, as in Mary Ruefle’s A Little White Shadow.
  • Political and Social Context: Contemporary poets use erasure to counter historical silencing, particularly regarding race, gender, and postcolonial issues. Examples include:
    • M. NourbeSe Philip’s Zong!: Uses 18th-century court documents about a slave ship massacre to create a new narrative of the atrocity.
    • Nicole Sealey’s The Ferguson Report: An Erasure: Reworks the US Department of Justice report on the police shooting of Michael Brown.
    • Indigenous Erasure Poetry: Poets like Jordan Abel and Billy-Ray Belcourt work with colonial texts (e.g., Treaty 8) to reflect the erasure of Indigenous people from history.
  • Theoretical Roots: Erasure has roots in the Dada movement (early 20th century) and is heavily influenced by Jacques Derrida’s concept of sous rature ("under erasure"), which suggests that a word is inadequate but necessary, prompting readers to consider what is hidden or removed.
  • "The Death of the Author": Erasure poetry challenges the concept of original authorship, as the new work is created from an existing one, turning the reader into a participant in the creation of meaning. 
Significant Examples & Historical Evolution:
  • 1950s: Robert Rauschenberg’s Erased de Kooning Drawing (1953) is often cited as a modern precursor in visual art.
  • 1960s/70s: Doris Cross’s Dictionary Columns (1965) and Ronald Johnson’s Radi Os(1977) are early literary examples.
  • 2000s-Present: The form exploded with works like Jen Bervin’s Nets (2004) and Travis Macdonald’s The O Mission Repo (2008), with a recent focus on digital and social media #erasurepoetry. 
Cultural & Historical Erasure (Sociopolitical):
Beyond the artistic technique, "erasure" describes the systematic omission of marginalized groups—women, minorities, LGBTQ+ communities—from historical records. This form of erasure serves to uphold existing power structures by rendering certain experiences invisible or invalidating them. 
Percival Everett's Erasure (2001):
Percival Everett’s novel Erasure (adapted into the film American Fiction) is a major literary work that satirizes the publishing industry's tendency to force Black writers to adhere to stereotypical, "authentic" narratives. The title refers to the protagonist's struggle with his own erasure by a society that refuses to see him beyond his race, as well as the personal losses (family, memory) he experiences. 

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