Friday, February 9, 2018

february ekphrasis

Laura Shovan's annual birthday month poetry project has burgeoned this year!  Even after setting a limit of 100 participants for the Facebook group, more have petitioned for entry and now well over 100 are looking each day at a piece of art from someone's own home collection and writing about it, or in more cases, from it--taking all different kinds of inspiration.

I too am joining in as able, and below are the pieces I've described (which is all that the word ekphrasis means).  Thanks to Laura and to Kip Wilson Rechea, a fellow author who's helping Laura mind the very busy ekphrasis store!

textile by Morag Gilbart






Thanks for bearing with the unpolished but very fun and challenging quips and snips!  Speaking of which, if you haven't learned about the awesome Windows Snipping Tool which has literally changed my life as a teacher and a blogger, you should:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snipping_Tool

The round-up today is hosted by Sally Murphy over down under.  See you there, and see you next Wednesday, Valentine's Day, for the announcement of the Cybils Poetry Award winner!  Can't wait to share the big news!

14 comments:

  1. Oooh, as an educator I'm always looking for new tools, so I'm going to check out Windows Snipping Tool!

    Oh, and I'm so excited for the Cybils Poetry Award announcement, I can't wait!!

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  2. Heidi, you are such a talent. I missed some of these poems, despite trying to read the poems of others in the group. It is an overwhelming outpouring this year, and it has defeated my intention to bathe in the beauty. I love that I got an extra chance here to see yours, collected together. That last stanza with the darkness and the maid. So potent and powerful.

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  3. Wonderful voice in these, Heidi... "Forkfowl"! "Flappings of paradise green"! "Needlebeak!" That scary-gulping icy shine.

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  4. These are wonderful! I'm so glad to have a chance to read them here. It's hard to keep up with everything on the facebook group.

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  5. Your poems are so fun to read again and again. This is a daily challenge. So far I'm keeping up, but I know that will change as the month moves along.

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  6. What Kay said. I've dipped into the FB group a bit, but I have to make sure I write before I read. Otherwise I'm brainwashed by everyone else's poems (and any confidence I had disappears). Reading through all the offerings is often sidelined by all the "must-dos" of the Day Job.

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    1. Yes to all fellow participants: write first (and early if possible) and be forgiving when you miss a day or don't have time for thorough comments. The Day Job time since Winter Break has been intense and unpredictable but I'm glad I set aside a LITTLE time for ekphrasis! It's one of the easiest forms to drop in on, for me: it all sits right there in front of you!

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  7. I've enjoyed reading all your poems, Heidi, no favorites, but that last one today has a certain feel that is lovely. Thanks for the link to the Snipping Tool!

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  8. Lovely poems, Heidi - and thanks for sharing that teaching tool - I'm heading over now to check it out.

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  9. These are ever-clever and just delightful to read, Heidi. Tabatha "took" my favorites, BTW - she and I always seem to have similar tastes. "Forkfowl" - HA!

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  10. I love reading your poems here with the art that inspired them. Each one is fresh, and I also love reading what others have written in response to the same piece of art. That first one "Fear" is a gem. We don't often think about the infant acknowledging vulnerability. Perhaps we're so focused on our own fears around protecting each new life. I love "owlbeetles" and "forkfowl"!

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  11. These are all wonderful, Heidi. I've not been very diligent with my month - in spite of good intentions - so am glad you rounded yours up here to reinspire me.

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  12. Thank you for posting these poems for us to enjoy! They were all wonderful, but I found the raw emotion in "Fear" and the striking imagery in the last few lines of "Spoon Sculpture" particularly moving.

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Thanks for joining in the wild rumpus!