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

       To clarify that ekphrastic poetry need not be limited to a description or praise of a work of art, and in fact that it can be a means of making a powerful statement I shared the story of THE MAN WITH A HOE. The poem by Edwin Markham written after seeing Millet's painting started a national debate about the plight of agricultural workers in America and resulted in social change.

      And since we had come together as a group of writers I wanted to emphasize the point I hoped those two examples made; that sometimes our work is better when we collaborate with another in some way.

     For our last writing exercise of the day I asked everyone to write just one line after having a good long look at a poster of the iconic photograph, MIGRANT MOTHER by Dorothea Lange. Below I share our collaborative group poem.

What's it Like to be You

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/