James, I have been an "Alice" lover since I was seven years old and my father tossed me an edition of Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. I remember the top of my head exploding from the wonderful style of Carroll's writing and the brilliance of the Victorian satire that did nothing to diminish the rollicking tale of a girl wandering through her two dream worlds. You've done an astounding job with this blackout project and have - with tons of thought I'm sure - preserved the tale while isolating the deeper meaning. Many years after reading Alice to myself and to my sons, I had the honor of recording the audio book of Through the Looking Glass. Now my granddaughters are Alice fans except for the almost two year old who I will soon brainwash. Thank you so much. Carroll genius is continued.
Wow this is an impressive feat for anyone to take on. I found it to be quite a constant moving journey, never sitting still, kind of like a dream state.
What an unexpected treat, a delight of words and images and twists! I have read Alice in Wonderland (and Through the Looking Glass) several times, enough for this to be a truly pleasurable read as you turned the book on its head ("Said Alice. Said the Queen") and yet kept the dream quality of it all. I shall read this more than once, I expect...there are truncated passages that ring so wonderfully in the imagination.
Whoa! This is pretty damn impressive, James. Enjoyed it very much, and something really fresh. Never experienced a blackout poem like this, the video was great. Every time I think of Alice I think of Feruza Bulk in The Return To OZ for some reason!
Oh man. Have we talked about that movie? I just saw it again with my wife after several decades. It's STILL creepy! The Gnome King is, hands down, the most terrifying villain from any movie that pretended to be for children. I'll let my daughter see it when she turns 35.
Wow. Definite magic quality as the poem moved between the characters and very Wonderland-fitting! I haven't encountered much blackout poetry before, but I enjoyed this one a lot. You were able to tell a very cohesive story, too, which (at least to me) seems really difficult with the blackout medium.
Have you ever read Crispin Glover's books? They are black out (among other things) and might interest you if you've never encountered one before.
Oh. My. No, I have not but you just said "Crispin Glover" and "blackout poetry" in the same sentence. I HAVE to read these now. I'm so glad you told me about them, thank you!
The only problem is that they are difficult to find ("Rat Catching," the one I read, was stored at a university library, though he also sells them directly on his website) but I saw you mention David Lynch in another comment and they definitely match that style. If you find one, I hope you enjoy it!
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Early on, I felt it was developing a David Lynch kind of vibe about it, where the sentiment was more important than the plot logic. So I let that be the guiding principle and just let it go where it might.
Yes! I wasn't sure where it was going, I was on the edge of my seat. Very thrilling read! I want to try blackout poems. Haven't so far. Your commentary on the book print itself made me chuckle.
James, I have been an "Alice" lover since I was seven years old and my father tossed me an edition of Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass. I remember the top of my head exploding from the wonderful style of Carroll's writing and the brilliance of the Victorian satire that did nothing to diminish the rollicking tale of a girl wandering through her two dream worlds. You've done an astounding job with this blackout project and have - with tons of thought I'm sure - preserved the tale while isolating the deeper meaning. Many years after reading Alice to myself and to my sons, I had the honor of recording the audio book of Through the Looking Glass. Now my granddaughters are Alice fans except for the almost two year old who I will soon brainwash. Thank you so much. Carroll genius is continued.
That's so awesome, Sandy! Alice stories are certainly something special. Is there a place I could go to find your audio version?
Thanks so much for the kind words!
Wow this is an impressive feat for anyone to take on. I found it to be quite a constant moving journey, never sitting still, kind of like a dream state.
Fair play on such a long project!
Thanks so much, David! Yeah, very much a “dream logic” kind of story. It was fun to do, but I dunno if I’ll ever have another one in me. 😅
What an interesting concept. I've actually never seen this done before.
I think it hit peak popularity 10 to 15 years ago, but it seems to be getting a resurgence lately. It's definitely fun to try!
Understanding nothing about blackout poetry 🤣 but intrigued with this project you took on 🤯
Thanks for reading, Phil! This one was definitely a doozy.
What an unexpected treat, a delight of words and images and twists! I have read Alice in Wonderland (and Through the Looking Glass) several times, enough for this to be a truly pleasurable read as you turned the book on its head ("Said Alice. Said the Queen") and yet kept the dream quality of it all. I shall read this more than once, I expect...there are truncated passages that ring so wonderfully in the imagination.
Very glad you enjoyed it! It’s one of my favorites as well, so it’s great to hear you found this version enjoyable.
That was a pleasure in the end.
Glad it was!
This is so cool!! I’ve never seen anybody do the whole book before. Well done.
Kinda my reason for trying, too; never seen it done.
Thanks so much for reading! (And hey, I'd just like to point out that I left the book cover in tact. I'm just sayin'.)
I was ACTUALLY thinking you should have effed up the cover a bit too 😉
Hahah not gonna lie it did occur to me, but I was worried it would smear funny as the cover had a weird kind of coating on it.
Whoa! This is pretty damn impressive, James. Enjoyed it very much, and something really fresh. Never experienced a blackout poem like this, the video was great. Every time I think of Alice I think of Feruza Bulk in The Return To OZ for some reason!
Oh man. Have we talked about that movie? I just saw it again with my wife after several decades. It's STILL creepy! The Gnome King is, hands down, the most terrifying villain from any movie that pretended to be for children. I'll let my daughter see it when she turns 35.
Well done. A great adventure
Thanks, Nate! Definitely took long enough. 😅
Beautiful and wonderful (no pun intended).
Thanks, Marian! Pun unintended perhaps, but nonetheless appreciated. :)
Wow. Definite magic quality as the poem moved between the characters and very Wonderland-fitting! I haven't encountered much blackout poetry before, but I enjoyed this one a lot. You were able to tell a very cohesive story, too, which (at least to me) seems really difficult with the blackout medium.
Have you ever read Crispin Glover's books? They are black out (among other things) and might interest you if you've never encountered one before.
Oh. My. No, I have not but you just said "Crispin Glover" and "blackout poetry" in the same sentence. I HAVE to read these now. I'm so glad you told me about them, thank you!
The only problem is that they are difficult to find ("Rat Catching," the one I read, was stored at a university library, though he also sells them directly on his website) but I saw you mention David Lynch in another comment and they definitely match that style. If you find one, I hope you enjoy it!
This is quite the creative project. SO much fun and an adventure to read. I think it turned out just right! ❤️
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it! Early on, I felt it was developing a David Lynch kind of vibe about it, where the sentiment was more important than the plot logic. So I let that be the guiding principle and just let it go where it might.
Yes! I wasn't sure where it was going, I was on the edge of my seat. Very thrilling read! I want to try blackout poems. Haven't so far. Your commentary on the book print itself made me chuckle.
So many people had a problem with that when I told them about it! I figure I'd get ahead of the criticism. 😄
And yes you totally should try! You can use absolutely anything. I like using pharmacy receipts for an added challenge.
I figured people did with the book.