Ekphrastic Poetry

WHAT IS EKPHRASTIC POETRY?

If ekphrasis is the art of writing about art, then ekphrastic poetry is poetry inspired by other creative works. Art, sculpture, architecture, film, television, and even dreams are all fertile material for the ekphrastic poem.

What is ekphrastic poetry?: Poetry inspired by other creative works, such as art, sculpture, architecture, film, television, and even dreams.

Example

Tower of Power

by Dan Holden

Faux wood grain and fabric

encase magnets and membranes.

Stacked

Stax

sub-woofer,

tweeters,

full-range stereo.

Transistor,

boom box (ghetto-blaster if you're racist),

monument to hip-hop queens.

Speak

Amplified boom bass

vibrate call to arms.

Mellow grooves soothe.

Magnetic tape unspooled

rewind to recover soul.

Speak-the-word-spoken.

The box projects waves

and curls cultural.

Propagate, procreate

the revolution

Thirty-three and a third,

extended play,

bonus track.

Unheard Sounds, Come Through

Jen Everett Courtesy of the Baltimore Museum of Art, Photo: Mitro Hood

How to Write Ekphrastic Poetry

Part 1

Describe - Use sensory details (see hear smell taste, touch) to describe the art. [Please do not touch or taste the art. For this part use your imagination.]

Part 2

Meaning & Interpretation

Ventriloquism - speak for the art or an element of the art
Interrogation - question the art
Give an Account - describe your interaction with the art and the surroundings

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