This generative poetry class uses the museum as our muse by inviting students to enter into conversation with visual art. Merriam Webster defines ekphrasis as "a literary description or commentary on a visual work of art."

We’ll begin with group discussion of two contemporary ekphrastic poems: "Science Says" by Mary Jo Bang, and "Timothy O’Sullivan, Photographer" by John Spaulding. By unpacking their strategies and techniques, we’ll see how poets translate image into language.

From there, we’ll move into practice. Using shared artwork, students will free-write their responses, considering both the visual details of the piece and the emotional landscapes it opens up. Finally, participants will select their own piece of art to free-write about.

By the end of class, each participant will leave with several drafts, fresh techniques for approaching ekphrastic writing, and a newfound excitement for approaching museums to generate poetry!

All classes listed on the Loft website take place in Central Time.

https://loft.org/classes/museum-muse-transforming-art-poetry-ekphrasis