Visions of Verse

Last Christmas Eve, as we toasted to cherished friendships, I (Nicole Ringgold) had an inspiring conversation with poet Linda M. Robertson. We pondered how we might encourage increased collaboration between visual artists and writers in the Methow Valley.

Ginkgo Leaves, Ken Smith, Photography

Linda had recently completed an assignment for a poetry class - "Ekphrasis" - the task was to write a piece inspired by a visual work of art. Poets have used art as inspiration for centuries. John Keats' "Ode on a Grecian Urn" is one famous example, but even ancient poets such as Homer have turned to artwork as a source of stimulation for their writing. Linda said that the assignment allowed her to harness the power of visual images to inspire her own poetry.

Then we asked ourselves, what would happen if the assignment were reversed? How would it look to have visual artists create work inspired by writing? We decided to give the idea a whirl, and the exhibit Visions of Verse was born.

In May Confluence invited writers to submit "shorts" or "flash fiction" and received over 200 submissions. We then posted a call for visual artists to submit work inspired by the selected writing. Visions of Verse is an exhibit that includes the work created throughout this process, a diverse collection of 17 writers and 17 artists, both students and adults. A chapbook with the writing and art will be for sale at the gallery in November.

The opening reception for Visions of Verse will be held at Confluence on Saturday, November 9th, 4-8pm. A reading will be held on Friday, December 6th, 6pm.

On The Trail, Kim Matthews Wheaton, Oil