Art Poetica

This anthology contains ekphrastic poetry written by the Laura (Riding) Jackson Foundation Porch Poets and Pole Barn Poets,as well as the unique works of visual art that inspired the poems. Ekphrasis—from the Greek word ékphrasis, meaning 'description'— happens when a poet engages with a piece of art in order to interpret, inhabit, confront and speak to its subject. Ekphrastic poetry is nearly as old as art and poetry themselves—and poets as wide- ranging as Homer, Williams Carlos Williams, Sylvia Plath and Diane Suess have embraced this particular poetic form. One of the best known examples of an ekphrastic poem is John Keats' Ode on a Grecian Urn, where Keats addresses a painted urn and reflects on—and philosophizes about—the scenes it depicts. The body of work in this volume represents a series of collaborations between the LRJF poets— and artists Derek Gores, Sean Sexton, Sharon Sexton, Steven Edgar Bradbury, Britt Bair and Anita Prentice. Each of these interdisciplinary projects has culminated in a celebratory evening where the artists spoke about their work and the poets shared their poems surrounded by those works. Three of the five events took place at the Center for Spiritual Care and two at Gallery 14. The poetry and artwork here are organized into six sections; each section comprises—and is titled with— one of the participating artists, photographs of that artist's work, in addition to the respective poems. Our hope is that you, the reader, enjoy exploring the creations in this book— and maybe even find some inspiration along the way.