In my Visual Poetics course this January, the students and I explored the intersection between poetry and visual art, including a unit on ekphrasis (a verbal representation of a visual representation). Using poems by John Keats, Frank O’Hara, and Cathy Song, among others, as models, the students wrote poems based on works of art on display at the Colby Museum of Art, after touring the collection. It was a wonderful opportunity for the class to translate colors and shapes into words, and breathe new life into these works.
–Adam Giannelli, Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of English
Tracy on the Raft at 7:30, Alex Katz by Libby Johnson ’23
The Fish Tank of Women by Trisha Mukerjee ’21
Oil on canvas, 26 1/2 in. x 34 in. (67.31 cm x 86.36 cm). The Lunder Collection, 2013.111.