Saturday, August 29, 2015

Weekend Mini-challenge - Ekphrasis

Hi toads, tadpoles and other amphibians, today I thought I would bring you something truly challenging, a form or some technical detail of creating poetry. Maybe some aspects in the vast area of sonnets or haiku.

But...

Still there is some summer in the air, Sometimes when I lack inspiration I go to the wonderful site wikiart.org and try to find a picture or painting that inspires me. But alas, one thing that I have found is that this is often less successful than if I try to illustrate a poem already written. Often I get more comments when the poem reflects more indirectly the content in the picture.

So today want to do ekphrastic poetry. Ekphrasis comes from Greek and means to use a description of art (your poem) as a rhetorical or imaginative description.

Many might be familiar with haiga, and you all know that in a good haiga, the poem and the picture complement each other and create a wider wisdom than could be gained from the haiku and picture separately.

So today I will challenge you with just a single piece of art, and this time I would like you to find a poem that does not just describe the painting, but how it speaks to you, what stories do you find in it?. You might find a detail in the painting, or it might bring back some stories from your past, it might bring back dreams or hopes. But make sure you do not merely describe the picture, you have to find your story in it.

There are no requirement on form, you can write a poem, a vignette a news-article, an essay or maybe a novel (though that might be tough for me to read).

I have chosen this image for you:

Artist in his Studio by Rembrandt



14 comments:

Kerry O'Connor said...

Thanks for a great challenge, Bjorn.

Phil Slade said...

I assume that is a self-portrait by the master. But your task is hard for someone unskilled in artistry.

brudberg said...

I hope you manage to capture a story behind.. now it's time to put on my thinking cap before heading to bed.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Hey everyone,

I must say this was a fantastic challenge! I tried to depict my thoughts while describing the painting.. along with telling a story. Hope I did it justice!

Thank you Bjorn for this lovely opportunity :D This one's for you.

Lots of love,
Sanaa

Dr. Pearl Ketover Prilik (PKP) said...

Wrote two others which were centered too closely to the picture ... will include on page as well...

Fireblossom said...

My balky computer has let me out of my dungeon for the moment. Yay!

Dr. Pearl Ketover Prilik (PKP) said...

Mhmmm thought you wanted something that was not directly related to the picture but simply the feelings that the painting evoked ... my mistake?

brudberg said...

I like what I have seen so far.. There are emotions of all kind relating to the creation.. I think you can see a lot of different things in the picture.

brudberg said...

I like what I have seen so far.. There are emotions of all kind relating to the creation.. I think you can see a lot of different things in the picture.

purplepeninportland.com said...

This was fun. I did not see a linkup, so I direct you to:
https://purplepeninportland.wordpress.com/2015/08/30/artist-at-work/

Susie Clevenger said...

Great challenge Bjorn.

Grace said...

Thanks for the interesting challenge Bjorn ~

Anonymous said...

Interesting challenge. I like it.

Hannah said...

Thank you for the challenge and I apologize for the late response and lack of reading time...busy first week for one and next week another. :)