Ekphrastic Poetrya conversation between poetry and art

Sources:• Corn, Alfred. “Notes on Ekphrasis.” The American Academy of Poetry. • “Ekphrasis.” Poetry Foundation.• Morrison, Valerie. “Ekphrastic Poetry.” University of Georgia English

Department.• Norcross, Christina M. “Ekphrastic Poetry.”• “Perspectives in Writing Ekphrastic Poetry.” ReadWriteThink.• Smithsonian American Art Museum

Starry Night Vincent van Gogh (1889)

“Vincent (Starry, Starry Night)”Don McLean (1976)

Ekphrastic Poetry Definitions•Ekphrasis (Etymology)

▫ ek: “out of”▫ phrasis: “speech or expression”

•Ekphrastic Poetry (Definition)▫ A poem inspired by a work of art

•Ekphrastic Poetry (Explanation)▫It is a vivid description of a work of art.▫The poet interprets the art and then creates a

narrative that represents his or her reaction to it.▫Simply put, it is a conversation between poetry

and art.

Examples of Ekphrastic Poetry

"The Starry Night" Anne Sexton (1961)

The town does not exist except where one black-haired tree slips up like a drowned woman into the hot sky. The town is silent. The night boils with

eleven stars. Oh starry starry night! This is how I want to die.

It moves. They are all alive. Even the moon bulges in its orange irons to push children, like a god, from its eye. The old unseen serpent swallows up the

stars. Oh starry starry night! This is how I want to die:

into that rushing beast of the night, sucked up by that great dragon, to split from my life with no flag, no belly, no cry.

Starry Night Vincent van Gogh (1889)

“Edgar Degas: The Millinery Shop”

(excerpt) Adam Zagajewski (1994)

Hats are innocent, bathed in the soft light

which smoothes the contours of objects.

A girl is working.But where are brooks?  Groves?Where is the sensual laughter of

nymphs?The world is hungry and one daywill invade this tranquil room.

The Millinery ShopEdgar Degas (1890)

“Edward Hopper and the House by the Railroad" (excerpt)

Edward Hirsch (1995)

Out here in the exact middle of the day, This strange, gawky house has the

expression Of someone being stared at, someone

holding His breath underwater, hushed and

expectant;

This house is ashamed of itself, ashamed Of its fantastic mansard rooftop And its pseudo-Gothic porch, ashamed of its shoulders and large, awkward

hands. 

But the man behind the easel is relentless. 

He is as brutal as sunlight, and believes The house must have done something

horrible To the people who once lived here 

Because now it is so desperately empty, It must have done something to the sky Because the sky, too, is utterly vacant And devoid of meaning.

House by the RailroadEdward Hopper (1925)

“American Gothic" (excerpt)John Stone (1998)

Just outside the frame there has to be a dog chickens, cows and hay 

and a smokehouse where a ham in hickory is also being preserved 

Here for all time the borders of the Gothic window anticipate the ribs 

of the house the tines of the pitchfork repeat the triumph 

of his overalls and front and center the long faces, the sober lips

American GothicGrant Wood (1930)

•Image: Choose a well-known work of art▫ Art photography is also acceptable▫ Think museum quality artwork▫ Caption required: Title of piece (italics). Name of artist.

Year.

•Poem: 10 line minimum▫ No requirements regarding rhyme, meter, or form▫ Title your poem

•Format: Include both image and typed poem on same page▫ Option 1: Image at top of page, poem below▫ Option 2: Image on left of page, poem on the right▫ Print in color

Homework: Write an Ekphrastic Poem

DUE:Wed. 4/9

Ekphrastic Poetry: ApproachesConsider the following suggestions when writing your

poem:• Write about the scene being depicted in the artwork• Write about your experience of looking at the art• Write in the voice of a person or object shown• Write in the voice of the artist• Speculate about why the artist created this work • Write a dialogue among characters in a work of art • Speak directly to the artist or the subject(s) of the piece• Imagine a story behind what you see• Relate the art to something else it reminds you of• Imagine what was happening while the artist was

creating the piece