Thursday, 9 April 2026

8 - Erasing Eris

Things you need to know:

  1. Eris is the unpleasant, bitter, Greek deity of Chaos and Discord.
  2. This took me for-bloody-ever…

#NaPoWriMo Day 8 and yesterday I sculpted an erasure poem, inspired by a prompt of “Eridanus”, courtesy of my handy-dandy randomised prompts-and-topics spreadsheet. And, being me, I went a bit extra with it all (we’re all astonished, I know), and decided that the thing I would be erasing would be the entire bloody Wikipedia article, and then, in order for the audio version to match the spirit of the visual version, that I would record me reading the entire bloody Wikipedia article aloud and cut the concomitant bits out of the recording for authenticity.

I can certainly say I’ve learned some things, though what they might be, only time can tell… (The image description for this is going to be… special, for one…)

Remember that, if you’re a subscriber to my Patreon, you can hear a recording of this piece (and the seven preceding it) there. And it is certainly an experience! The link to the relevant post is here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/erasing-eris-155174189


Two halves of the redacted article side-by-side:
The top half of the Wikipedia article on the constellation Eridanus. Every line has one or more black redaction marks on it, including the three graphics. Some are blacked out altogether. The word Eridanus is repeatedly redacted to read Eris, and all the names on the graphics have been redacted. There's even a big, black rectangle entirely covering something - probably the quick facts table - on the right of the page. The three graphics, from top right downwards, are 1. A greyscale map that gives the appearance of being of the lower tip of a tapering landmass, even though constellations are dotted around it (with their names redacted); 2. A dark blue night sky with the writhing river of the Eridanus (redacted to Eris) drawn on in pale lines, above a flat piece of ground with trees on it. The caption has been entirely blacked out. 3. A digital rendering of a red and white ringed planet and its distant star in the background. The angle makes it look like someone wearing a jaunty hat. You can access the text in the recording on Patreon, and may the gods help you.The lower half of the Wikipedia article on the constellation Eridanus. Every line has one or more black redaction marks on it, including the three graphics. Some are blacked out altogether. This page is less crowded, so the unredacted words stand out more clearly for being given room to breathe in. About halfway down the page, on the left-hand side, is a repulsive creature that looks like it was the subject of illegal genetic experimentation, and is cognisant enough to know its fleshy, fish-tailed, mole-pawed, hairless, beige body and green-scaly, orange-jowly face are going to leave it lonely forever. There are other, smaller figures around it that look a lot more geometrical and a lot less horrified pity-inducing.  You can access the text in the recording on Patreon, and may the gods help you.

Or, if you’d like to see the whole darned thing in a oner:
A combined version of both the above and the original edit, if you must know. Not really much point in putting anything new in the alt-text, though! Scroll back up if you want the details; listen to the Patreon recording if you like torturing yourself. Thanks for popping by!

Fine, I’ll have pity on you – here’s the version rendered into plain words:

Eris stretches along the south.
It is a river. It remains one of the
real features of the blue-white years,
whose tradition means “the end”.

Peculiar observations indicate poles
spinning extremely rapidly.
The noteworthy Beta tradition called
a blue-white Earth. Its foot gives
indistinguishable amateurs primary
binary magnitude; visible, divisible:
a triple system consisting of an
orange main star,
a white dwarf,
and a red dwarf.

The maga is easily visible white.
The maga have a period of 50 years.
Artists impress, ran –
one extra orange-hued star,
one planet, a period of 7 years.

Supervoid cold spot is large
(devoid of gaies),
meter superseded only by
speculation that the void may be
due to quantum entanglement
between our universe and another.

Deep-sky visible in small amateurs
with large instruments
light the northeast. Eris is a faint reflection,
an ancient remnant illuminated by grand design.
barred gays center an unusual structure:
a grand design spiral that exists tightly wound.

The Nu Eris shower radiate cons every year;
the parent is unidentified.
Another peaks, dips his paws into Eris;
this mirror depicts a river,
flowing into the south.
According to one theory, the marsh is
held sacred to the domain of the Abyss:
a myth of the father, no strength to control
and so veers, scorching both Earth and heaven.
Zeus intervene and cast him to the burning river!

Eris cannot be seen from China.
The White Tiger of the West was
classified knowledge of western stars.
Citation needed.

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