{"id":45891,"date":"2025-05-15T05:55:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-15T10:55:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/?p=45891"},"modified":"2025-05-14T12:21:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T17:21:26","slug":"ekphrastic-writing-when-words-make-art-speak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/45891\/ekphrastic-writing-when-words-make-art-speak\/","title":{"rendered":"Ekphrastic Writing \u2013 When Words Make Art Speak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read Amanda Flagler’s poetic response here.<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
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Ekphrasis. If it sounds like Greek to you, you\u2019re right. It means description. Capable of taking any form, ekphrastic writing is a genre that interprets works of art, expanding the experiences they offer and possibly even their meanings. This fast-growing practice is overflowing into other art forms as one piece of art inspires others.<\/p>\n

Unlike essays that try to explain, maintain objectivity, build consensus, borrow authority by citing sources, reveal the essential point, and even become comprehensive, ekphrastic writing frees writers, readers, and viewers from the burdens of making arguments for or against something. Rather than reducing, it expands. It posits no single right answer by offering many possibilities. It creates space for and even invites each individual into their own subjective and emotional, sometimes irrational and contradictory experiences. Long after it was made, the lived experience of art continues living new lives. Ekphrasis\u2019 aim is not resolution but superabundance.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve experienced the transformative power of ekphrasis as viewer, writer, and artist, sometimes simultaneously. During one of my recent photography exhibits, I placed my ekphrastic poem on the wall.<\/p>\n

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Looking At My Landscape<\/strong><\/p>\n

Looking at my landscape,
\nUndulating mounds under sky\u2019s breath,
\nbehind glass, I catch a glimpse of
\nmyself reflected; on it, in it, one with it.<\/p>\n

I shift back and forth and near and far,
\neyes searching. The land stays the same, or rather,
\nthe image of it does not change while I do.<\/p>\n

I make contact eye to eye
\nwhile looking for the eye of the land.<\/p>\n

I see myself seeing.<\/p>\n

first published in the exhibit and catalog Landscapes Within Landscapes, <\/em>republished in Deep Water<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Offering viewers another perspective by calling attention to reflections on glass, the poem encouraged people to play. I enjoyed watching others reposition their reflections, with and without me; faces, hearts, and hands danced over oceans, mountains, and clouds. Viewers moved from passive witnesses to active participants.<\/p>\n

The average person looks at a work of art for 10-30 seconds.\u00a0Ekphrasis dovetails in wonderful ways with the slow-looking movement in today\u2019s museums and galleries, encouraging visitors to spend time and deepen their personal connections with art. There\u2019s no better way to do this than ekphrastic writing.\u00a0 Consider it a mindfulness practice.<\/p>\n

Where would I recommend you begin? Try these three things.<\/p>\n

1. Ask questions.<\/p>\n

Ask as many as you can. After this, answering them is optional. \u00a0Remember the five w\u2019s – who, what, where, when, why. Don\u2019t forget if \u2026\u00a0Turn one question into many by rephrasing it.<\/p>\n

2. Explore the balance between content, form, and feeling.<\/p>\n

Limit yourself to making statements about a single area, in three separate sessions. In a fourth, remix them, combining elements that compare or contrast meaningfully.<\/p>\n

3. Start conversations.<\/p>\n

Consider all elements of your art experience – artist, medium, subject, context, etc. What would you say to them? What would they say to you? What would they say to each
\nother?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s useful to ask how ekphrastic is it? Some responses are purely descriptive (a sound camera for the mind\u2019s eye), while others are so purely personal that no reference to the art remains, and it becomes something else. Generally, the most successful ekphrastic writing occurs between these poles \u2026 but where exactly must be discovered by both writer and reader. You\u2019ll discover even more when you share ekphrasis with others. Did I mention how much fun it is?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Learn more about ekphrastic writing here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Enjoy The Camden Festival Of Poetry<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Read responses on the Ekphrastic Review here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Read Amanda Flagler’s poetic response here. . Ekphrasis. If it sounds like Greek to you, you\u2019re right. It means description. Capable of taking any form, ekphrastic writing is a genre that interprets works of art, expanding the experiences they offer and possibly even their meanings….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true},"categories":[3994],"tags":[4466,4691,4693,4330,131,4688],"post_folder":[],"yoast_head":"\nEkphrastic Writing \u2013 When Words Make Art Speak - John Paul Caponigro<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.johnpaulcaponigro.com\/blog\/45891\/ekphrastic-writing-when-words-make-art-speak\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ekphrastic Writing \u2013 When Words Make Art Speak - John Paul Caponigro\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Read Amanda Flagler’s poetic response here. . 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