NaPoWriMo Prompt #6: The Ekphrastic Poem, or Writing from Visual Art

‘Bishū Fujimigahara,’ one of the famous block prints by 19th century Japanese artist Hokusai Katsushika. I took this picture at an exhibition of Hokusai’s work at Boston’s Museum of Fine Art.

When I feel creatively drained, nothing energizes me like an afternoon in a museum. Treating my eyes to room after room of paintings, sculptures, textiles, and other visual art nurtures my artistic self in a way nothing else does.

No wonder so many poets in so many cultures have taken inspiration from visual art to fuel their work. Examples include Arda Collin’s “Snow on the Apples,” William Carlos Williams’ “Landscape With the Fall of Icarus,” Elizabeth Beck’s “Venus of Willendorf,” and Adrienne Rich’s “Mourning Picture.”

I think of this method as a way of getting inside of the art and trying to communicate the heart of my experience with it through language. It’s not just how it makes me feel, but what it reveals to me about myself and the world I inhabit. The Poetry Foundation describes an ekphrastic poem as “… a vivid description of a scene or, more commonly, a work of art. Through the imaginative act of narrating and reflecting on the ‘action’ of a painting or sculpture, the poet may amplify and expand its meaning.” A dry description, but it gets the point across.

Today, write an ekphrastic poem, one inspired by any work of art that fuels your imagination. There is no particular form to follow; it’s completely up to you and your creative mind. For inspiration, you can search Google Images or head to DeviantArt, or check out the web site for your closest major museum.