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Saturday, December 9, 2017

A Poetry Salon

     Last weekend I served as facilitator at a poetry salon. I know all of the poets who were expected to attend, and they are an accomplished lot, so I put a lot of thought into what to do with them. Since December was underway I thought about the significance of the time of year for all people everywhere now and throughout history. The importance of the season is something that we all share, a mark of our humanity. It occurred to me that ekphrastic poetry is the same, and so that became the theme of the salon. 
         As an introduction I initiated a discussion of a collaboration that I find simply fascinating; Allen Ginsburg and Paul Cezanne, and I read his poem below, and shared how Ginsberg said that studying Cezanne's paintings had great influence on his HOWL. The poem and a good analysis are here:               https://ekphrasisanalysis.weebly.com/cezannesports.html

paul-cezanne-the-gulf-of-marseilles-seen-from-lestaque-c1885.jpg (2158×1563)

What's it Like to be You
Migrant_Mother,_Nipomo,_California_(3588771589).jpg (1616×2000)

Mommy? .... Mommy, tell her to go away.
      Mother of sorrows, I think of you now and may have at the hour of your awakening.
Hunger, how is it you followed me this far from home
      I would like to hear you voice.
We've had so little, and our bodies no longer groan.
      And where did your buttons go?
How did I get here
      Mommy, make them go.
and how do I get out?
       Somewhere, oh somewhere, there lies an answer to my prayer.

      As promised here are a couple of links about ekphrastic writing opportunities:

http://mainewriters.org/programs/artword-ekphrasis-at-the-pma/

http://www.ekphrasisjournal.com/