 Poetry: September 17, 2008 Issue [#2616] |
  Poetry
This week: Edited by: Red Writing Hood <3  
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Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech.
Simonides (556 BC - 468 BC)
One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 - 1832)
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Fantastic Ekphrastic
A cool breeze lifts my hair for a moment, cooling the back of my neck as I enter the museum. Echoing whispers blend into one another, and wrap around Venus de Milo’s ankles. As I walk down the corridor, each picture is like a window into another world. Some worlds are familiar, some are bizarre. Each holds some form of inspiration. Use this inspiration to create ekphrastic poetry.
This word has several spellings. Ekphrastic can also be spelled as ecphrastic, and it can also be referred to as ekphrasis/ecphrasis.
Ekphrasis can be translated as “speaking out,” but that doesn’t begin to describe ekphrastic writing. An ekphrastic poem can paint a word picture as vivid as the art itself. As the poet, you can let a favorite art form speak to someone who hasn’t had the chance to experience it for themselves.
I first heard of ekphrastic poetry recently. I was looking over contest categories and one listed this type of poetry as the topic. It was the oddest looking name, and coupled with the fact that it was a poetry form I’ve never heard of—it drew me in to investigate. Join me on this fantastic ekphrastic journey.
BRIEF HISTORY
Ekphrastics can be traced to classical Greece and Homer’s Iliad. In fact, in James A. W. Heffernan’s Museum Mediations: Reframing Ekphrasis in Contemporary American Poetry, he says that “ekphrasis is as old as writing itself in the western world.” (Heffernan 9)
MUST HAVES
--Write a poem on a visual art. That’s it. Some examples could be: architecture, dance recital/ballet, movie/play, painting, sculpture, or even a written work that contains strong imagery.
How you go about your representation of your selected “art” is totally up to you. You could simply describe it detail by detail. You could share the emotions the art brought from within you, or you could create a story that you feel is being told. This form is an easy one to fill out.
For some great examples of ekphrastic poetry go to http://valerie6.myweb.uga.edu/ekphrasticpoetry.html
COULD HAVES or What's The Poet's Choice In All This?
--Any form (or no particular form) just follow the form’s rules.
--Any rhyme (or no rhyme), unless a form is used, then you follow the rhyme scheme for that form.
--Any meter (or no set meter) unless a form is used, then you follow the meter required for that form.
OF NOTE
--Some painters wrote poems that were meant to go with their artwork. (Corn, 2008)
--This form is a fantastic way to practice your imagery. Greek students practiced it to hone their “highly detailed descriptive writing.” (Welsh, 2008)
--Ekphrasis can be more than just poetry; it is used to describe any writing about various art forms.
I gather my thoughts, pen, and notebook, and leave the museum. I leave behind the actual artwork, but I take with me the inspiration for countless poems.
SOURCE NOTES
Corn, Arthur (2008). Notes on Ekphrasis. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from Poets.org Web site: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19939
Heffernan, James A. W. (2006). Museum Mediations: Reframing Ekphrasis in Contemporary American Poetry (Literary Criticism and Cultural Theory). NY: Taylor & Francis Group.
Welsh, Ryan (2007). Ekphrasis. Retrieved September 13, 2008, from The University of Chicago Theories of Media Keywords Glossary Web site: http://csmt.uchicago.edu/glossary2004/ekphrasis.htm
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Have a question, answer, problem, solution, tip, trick, cheer, jeer, or extra million lying around?
If so, send it through the feedback section at the bottom of this newsletter OR click the little envelope next to my name Red Writing Hood <3 and send it through email.
Comments on last month's newsletter on Gaines Verse:
Submitted By: bookworm243
Submitted Comment:
I especially like this newsletter, I have always loved the poetry newsletter but never like I have this one! I have been trying to find new poem structures, and here I have one! Thank you!
Submitted By: ridinghhood-p.boutilier 
Submitted Comment:
Always love finding a new form---it's nice to have a structure---especially one not confined by meter or rhyme...to wind a poem around. Love the short line lengths!
Submitted By: mareann52
Submitted Email Comment:
Awesome newsletter, thanks for all the very useful info. We all appreciate it.
Thank you all for your wonderful comments! They are what keeps me looking for interesting poetry forms, and poetry items for your enjoyment. Keep 'em coming!
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