This semester, students in “Elements of Creative Writing” (ENGL 235-500, Fall 2017) were asked to work on ekphrastics: literary works that take on visual art as their subjects and inspiration.

Each student accepted this challenge and focused for a month on producing poems—and in some cases microfiction—to accompany 2D and 3D works of art in the Forsyth Galleries.

They visited the Forsyth Galleries in early September, and students picked paintings and glass sculptures that they felt conveyed compelling material for narrative and lyrical composition.  The range of perspectives that these poems and prose pieces evoke shows an intriguing demonstration of craft and imagination.

They workshopped these drafts in class, offering suggestions for revision to aid in the articulation of concepts, images, cultural contexts, and form. The results offer fresh and thoughtful literary expressions in poetry and prose that deepen the experience of considering the visual art, and also these texts stand on their own as vivid explorations of character, setting, and history.

– – Dr. Jason Harris, professor