What Is Ekphrastic Poetry?
Do you ever face writer's block? We all do, right? Have you ever searched for inspiration and come across a tantalizing image or an intricate sculpture that set your imagination running? This is what Ekphrastic poetry is all about, describing or responding to a visual work of art. Ekphrastic poetry is a highly interpretive form of poetry; it can be molded by an individual poet's style and voice. This is what makes it so intriguing and exciting to write. If you are looking for inspiration to get your poetry gears turning, Ekphrastic poetry is the perfect place to start.
Steps To Writing Your Own Ekphrastic Poem
Find an inspiring piece of art. You can find inspiration in both physical and digital art (2d and 3d). Great places to look are local art galleries, online art galleries, art exhibitions, or just a plain old google search (the advanced image search on google can help you narrow your results for more tips on using it look here). These are some examples fetched from an advanced image search for "inspiring."
Use vivid, imaginative descriptions. You can look in a dictionary for useful adjectives, verbs, and nouns to use in your poems, but this method may take awhile. Other ways to find good words are google, thesauruses, writing websites, etc. Here is an example list of words to get you started. Observe the colors, curves, lines, objects, scenes, event, and impressions in the piece of art; these may inspire you.
Employ comparisons. If used correctly, metaphors and similes are effective comparisons that can make your poem stand out. The key to using metaphors and similes is to be creative and surprise the reader with an unexpected connection. Avoid cliches such as "cold as ice", "easy as pie", etc. A more complete list of cliches can be found here. These overused phrases will drown your writing and make it seem dull and incomplete. You can find tips on writing metaphors here.
Look at examples of Ekphrastic poems. Although Ekphrastic poems are one of the more poet molded forms, examples can offer you a good idea of how your own poem should look when you finish. They also allow you to visualize how a poet went about creating their own Ekphrastic poem. You can spot the poetic descriptions in the art and see how you could write your own descriptions of art. Here are some examples:
Landscape with the Fall of Icarus
William Carlos Williams
According to Brueghel when Icarus fell it was spring
a farmer was ploughing his field the whole pageantry
of the year was awake tingling with itself
sweating in the sun that melted the wings' wax
unsignificantly off the coast there was
a splash quite unnoticed this was Icarus drowning
Staring at the Night
Honor Moorman
Perhaps he too once stood just here head tilted eyes licking the orangey crescent moon exploding stars flaming cypress swirling silver sky
his imagination suspended in the silent city beneath quaking black mountains secret recesses of a tender growing night
Van Gogh whispering to his soul with furious brushstrokes as I cannot with this trickle of words he will never read
Be unique. The best way to make any poem stand out is to make it different from other poems. Use you inner voice. Style your poems in unique ways. Do not be afraid to experiment with different tenses, voices, tones, words, phrases, formatting etc. A newly styled poem is often appreciated more than a poem full of cliches and overused descriptives, so use your imagination. Some tips are to ask yourself how the art made you feel, what you think happened before or after the captured scene, what are the emotions displayed and inferrenced, what are the aspirations of the work or the characters displayed in it, what was the artist thinking when they created the piece, what is the mood set by the colors and shapes, etc. You can find more inspirational questions like these here.
Share your poem. Poetry is a beautiful creation, a piece of your heart spilled into words, a pure handful of vivid images, so share your poems with the world. Post them on your social media. Submit them to literary magazines. Enter them into poetry contests. Maybe, your work will change someone's life.
Submit your poem to Celestial Blood Literary Magazine. Our online magazine is currently open for submissions. We love to read all kinds of poetry and appreciate the work you put into creating it. Submissions are free, and we respond with personalized responses within one week. Submit now!
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