Ekphrastic
I have to make a confession here: when I was completing my MFA (Master of Fine Arts) in Poetry, I grew WEARY of ekphrastic poetry because it seemed that everyone was writing them. It wasn’t like they were BAD poems, but it started to feel like a gimmick. For many of you, however, ekphrastic poetry (poems that generally describe and engage with a work of art) may be a completely new thing!
I want to also expand what an ekphrastic poem can be (or other genre of writing as you could TOTALLY work in the idea an ekphrastic mindset within other genres). Instead of thinking of the more, perhaps, stodgy works of art, why not look around you? What about a picture your child drew at school? What about your favorite hymn? What about that iconic scene in “Say Anything” where she gives him the pen?
What I challenge you to do is to use that piece of art (however you define art) as inspiration. By describing it (touching on as many of the senses as possible) you are naming it; therefore, you are seeing it. With that seeing comes connection. How do you relate to this work? Why did you decide to write about it?
Here are some additional resources to get you thinking:
Would you like to check out an online art gallery?
How about describing a Pandora playlist? Or your YouTube recommendations?
How about a free online mini course that tries to define art?
Where would you like to go next?
12 - Still looking for a piece of art? What about creating one of your own?
19 - Could you perhaps try to describe a play you once saw or read without reading it again?
25 - Want some other writing prompts, with or without a piece of art in mind?