Image & Word: Write Poetry Inspired by Local Art

Use local visual art as inspiration for writing poems.

After this class with Erica Goss, you’ll never have the dreaded writers block again! You’ll know the secret to jumpstarting your writer brain: The Greeks had a word for it: “ekphrasis.” Many well-known poets, from Robert Lowell to Diane Seuss, have written beautiful, thought-provoking art-inspired poems. And no matter what, if you’re feeling stuck in your writing life, there will always be more art to look at for inspiration!

In this four-week generative poetry class, you will learn how to enhance your creativity from a selection of art including paintings, photographs and sculpture. 

In addition, we will take several walking field trips to view public art in downtown Eugene. Contemplating the deeper meanings in works of art, will give you plenty of ideas for new poems.

List of goals :

• You’ll gain more awareness of art freely available for viewing.
• You’ll engage in a study of ekphrasis as a sub-genre of poetry.
• You’ll do lots of close reading of ekphrastic poems.
• You’ll experiment with writing ekphrastic poems.

Poets ages 16 and up are welcome.

Several of Erica’s students have had poems they wrote in her class published! 

Join us for this unique writing experience.

Classes will feature in-class and out of class writing and readings, sharing work, and commenting on others’ writing.