Arts Alive San Antonio

BY JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

EKPHRASTIC POETRY CONTEST is PART of the 2024 POETRY MONTH

By JASMINA WELLINGHOFF, Editor

Poet and artist Linda Simone has been writing poems since she was in 4^th grade, and at some point, she got interested in composing ekphrastic poems.

Today she’s one of the coordinators of the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest, which is part of National Poetry Month in San Antonio. The contest is open to adults, youth and children. Last year 125 adults and 120 youth entered poems in the contest. More are expected this time around.

So, what’s Ekphrastic Poetry?

In short, it is poetry inspired by visual art works. They are not descriptions of the paintings, sculptures and other visual art works, but more of a poetic response to these art works. There are no rules. The poet may discover hidden meanings and expand and explore further the themes presented in the artwork.

“People find ekphrastic poetry understandable,” said poet Jim LaVilla-Havelin, the man who initiated the ekphrastic poetry contest. “It helps them look at works of art and breaks down reticence to poetry.”

For the purpose of the contest, the art works are chosen by the five participating San Antonio museums: The McNay Art Museum, the San Antonio Art Museum, the Witte Museum, the Briscoe Western Art Museum and Ruby City. Below are the links to the chosen pieces.

The poetry contest judges are Jim LaVilla-Havelin, Linda Simone and Eddie Vega.

So, what are they looking for in evaluating the submitted poems?

“Hard question,” noted LaVilla-Havelin. “A well written poem that captures something about the work of art that it’s responding to; a clear response to that work, not just a glancing look. I do quite a bit of ekphrastic writing. I worked for many years in an art museum, so my daily contact with works of art brought on many ekphrastic responses.”

He added that the participating museums have been “delighted” with the response of the public last year. “hey have at times placed the poems as label materials on the wall next to the chosen piece in their collection, and some have included a QR Code and an accessible audio of the poet reading his or her poem about a chosen art piece.”

Here are the 2024 art selections picked by each museum:

The Briscoe Western Art Museum:  Sunday Riding at Missions San Jose, 2014. By Gladys Roldan de Moras, oil on linen; https://briscoemuseum.org/poetry-contest/

The McNay Art Museum: Houses on the Hill by Paul Cezanne, French, 1839-1906; oil on canvas
https://www.mcnayart.org/event2024-national-poetry-month-ekphrastic-poetry-contest/

Ruby City: Ultimate Joy byJim Hodges; wood, metal panel, ceramic sockets and light bulbs’
https://www.rubycity.org/npmsa2024

San Antonio Museum of Art: Yen Yen Vase with Landscape Decoration, China, Qing dynasty, Kangxi period (1661-1722) Porcelain with cobalt blue underglaze.
https://www.samuseum.org/events/event/2024-nationalpoetrymonth-ekphrastic-poetry-contest/

The Witte Museum: Mapa de la Provincia de Texas, 1822 by Simon Bourne, copied from Stephen F. Austin’s map; pen and ink on paper; https://www.wittemuseum.org/ekphrastic/ The Ekphrastic Celebration Reading by winning poets will take place at Ruby City on April 27, 2024 at 10 a.m.
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What and How to submit: 1. Up to two (2) poems, each with a maximum of 15 lines. Do not put your name or other identifying info on the poem. Do not include artwork image on poem or email.
2. Attach one poem per email in a PDF or Microsoft Word doc or docx to:
EkphrasticPoetryContest1@gmail.com