Writing Prompt #13
April to August--The Sealey Challenge, ekphrastic poetry, earth art
Currently, I am doing the Sealey Challenge—read one book of poems a day in the month of August. April is national poetry month and I usually find myself flitting around between poems and poets and events. I love this August challenge because it invites you to sink into an entire book on those long (sometimes hot!) summer days. I admit that am behind, but I have read and re-read some great books this month!
In April, I saw Victoria Chang read in the Seattle Art and Lectures Series. Her new book With My Back to the World is ekphrastic poetry—a type of writing that uses words or other responses to describe or interpret a work of art—responding to the life’s work of abstract painter Agnes Martin. This was one of the books I read during the challenge and it inspired this prompt.
Her poems borrow the titles of Martin’s artwork and I love how Chang both describes the artwork and invites us into her own interiority. The poems are profound, confessional, and often take a surprising turn.
Here is an example of Martin’s artwork and Chang’s poem:
In April, I also joined a group called Earth Creative which has the mission to fight climate change through the arts. I am one of the few literary artists in the group, currently, and have been very inspired by meeting and learning from the visual and performance artists in the group. I think conversations between artists of all mediums is important, especially if we all share common values and intentions towards our respective art and work.
earth Art Writing Prompt (s):
As a writing prompt, I am offering three images. I invite you to take some time with these works and write your own creative responses. These artists/groups have an inherent ecological connection. Your responses can be poems or prose or whatever comes to mind—even a visual or auditory response, like a drawing or song! Try one or all three and feel free to post what you created in the comments!
#1
Meg Holgate (Earth Creative member) La Conner, WA
Painting (oil on canvas)
#2
Allen Moe featured at ie gallery in Edison, WA
Sculpture (cast copper and granite of riverbank)
#3
Salish Sea Butoh Festival in Bellingham. See my article on the festival for more information.
Dance (outdoor, intentional movement)
One ought, every day at least, to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it were possible, to speak a few reasonable words.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe