The character of Sherlock Holmes is iconic. Timeless. Dare we say, elementary. It’s been around for over 100 years, and we think it can withstand a few little renovations…

Holmes Improvement is our 6th edition of The Blackout Poetry Project. The Blackout Poetry Project affords readers and makers an avenue for responding to authors and their work. We’ll be making blackout poems directly on the pages of Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

Here’s a very quick how-to: a blackout poem in its simplest form needs only a page and a marking tool (pencil, marker, correction pen, etc.) You hide some words to make a poem out of what is left behind. You can stop there, or you can take it further and add some art.

Everyone is invited to join in! Pages and materials will be available in the Poetry Center in Wright Hall and at Design Thinking Initiative in Capen Annex. If you’re far from campus but would like to participate, just send an email to jblackbu [at] smith.edu with the subject line “Holmes Improvement,” and we’ll send you a page!

If you wish to be credited, please write your name and the date legibly on the back of your page (and if you want us to tag you on Instagram, please include your IG handle!) If you’re a student or alum, please include your class year! If you’d prefer to remain anonymous, please just write the date you made your work.

Put your completed pages on the paper tray or windowsill in the Boutelle-Day Poetry Center so we can collect them.

At the end of the project, we will put images of your pages on our project website and compile the physical pages and present them to Smith College Special Collections. We’ll be collecting these all year, through June 1, 2027!