Ekphrastic Poetry

Andrew Manning, Carolyn Allston, Cris Driscoll, Demetra Kavaltzis, Evan Gadowski

What is Ekphrastic Poetry?

Most college graduates with a degree in ELA do not know the answer. It is, a longstanding tradition in poetry that now has become its own subgenre of poetry. The poet writes about an existing piece of art.

Classic Example
Starry Night : Vincent Van Gogh (1889)

"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.

Hearing how Sexton sounds reading her own Ekphrastic Poem

http://youtu.be/NY7eKFgieY8

Point of View
1st Person Narration 3rd Person Narration Which one is in use in 'Starry Night?'

Personification
Describing inanimate objects in a way that allows them to come to life OR giving animals human-like qualities. The night sky seems to become a living and breathing characters in this poem? Locate the places where Sexton's use of language makes this possible.

Similes
Simile - a literary device that compares one thing to another by using the connecting words 'like' or 'as.' Example: Having to take classes during the summer months is like getting your wisdom teeth yanked while out at the local pub. Others examples?

Metaphors
A similar comparing device used in literature but the words 'like' and 'as' are not present. More sophisticated. Example: The summer session was a murder of angry crows pecking at our eyes, tearing at our flesh preventing us from approaching the cool, calm sea. Other examples?

Refresher Break
What is Ekphrastic Poetry? A poem written about (or that engages with)an existing piece of art. Hmmm.... That definition begs for another question to be addressed.........

WHAT IS ART????

Is this art?

Is this art?

Is this? Wait... who's the artist?

Group Work (15 Minutes)

Three groups. Each group has one of these works of "art" they'll be working with. Discuss possible points of view to approach your artwork from. Think of ways to use: similes, metaphors and personification. Objective?

End Goal
With your group, collectively write three cohesive sentences about your piece. Be creative! You can imagine you exist inside the work; or that you are the actual artist; or you simply are just an anonymous admirer. (You are not limited to these choices!) Try and come up with fresh and exciting similes,metaphors and play with personification.

Homework
Two Parts 1. Read and reread "Facing It" an ekphrastic poem by Yusef Komunyakaa (1988). Identify similes, metaphors and examples of personification. 2. Taking what youve learned today about ekphrastic poetry, revisit your group's 3 sentences and Revise and Edit these sentences making them sound more like lines of poetry. See Homework Worksheet.