February Poetry Café: Ekphrasis

Join us for our monthly Poetry Café in the Great Hall. For February’s café, we are going to be practicing ekphrasis, a written description of a piece of visual art.  The word comes from the Greek “ek” and “phrásis”, meaning ‘out’ and ‘speak’ respectively, and the verb “ekphrázein”, which is “to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name.” Drawing inspiration from the current art exhibition, the permanent pieces, and the building itself, we will draft poems that either describe what we see, tell a story present in the work, or how the art makes us feel. We have increased the length of the café to 90 minutes instead of 60 to give us time to write and share. Come ready to write or be an attentive listener, all are welcome. Please register below.

Some examples of ekphrastic poetry include Homer’s Iliad, book 18, where he describes the shield Hephaestus forges for Achilles,  “Ode to a Grecian Urn” by John Keats, and Tennessee Williams’ poem about the bronze statue found in Pompeii. 

There is some debate on the origin of the phrase “Poetry Café.” Some argue it refers to the Modernists (Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, TS Eliot, etc.) sharing their work in the cafés in Europe. As spoken word poetry has gained traction and the genre of slam poetry has evolved, some trace the phrase to the Nuyorican Poets Café in Manhattan. The café was founded in 1973 by Rutgers professor Miguel Algarín and gave Puerto Rican New York poets a place to meet and share their work. Although the café was closed for several years in the 1980’s, it continues to serve as an arts center for the Nuyorican community.