The Fantastic Ekphrastic - What it is and When You re Using It
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.
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.
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.
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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