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An Ekphrastic Event with the Paintings of Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso

9/18/2020

2 Comments

 
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An Ekphrastic Event with the Paintings of Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso

​This poetry “event”—poets responding to paintings by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso and then the painter responding back—is one of countless literary events that the Covid-19 pandemic bumped from in person to online. In the spring of 2020, the students in my Advanced Poetry Writing course at Southeastern University, along with myself and my poetry collaborator Anna Cotton, were scheduled to perform at our local art museum, the Polk Museum of Art. For the sixth year in a row, we would have delivered our poems aloud while standing on the museum’s wood floors, standing between the very works of art on the walls and a live public audience in the halls. 

In losing that physical experience, we lost something important. But in moving online, we gained several important things as well. We gained the opportunity—thanks to the generosity of Lorette C. Luzajic in providing our event a digital home at The Ekphrastic Review--to have the work remain available beyond a single evening. We gained the opportunity for the poet Lisa Pegram and several of the students she led in an ekphrastic poetry event at the Smithonian over a decade ago, the very event that inspired ours in Florida, to join us. And we gained the opportunity for the artist Dellosso, whose work we were slated to engage with in person at the museum in an exhibit titled A Brush with HerStory, to be part of the event—by responding to our responses with a video included at the end of this page. In short, what we lost in immediacy we gained in mediacy—in the ability to have connections and conversations across time and space, mediated by technology, that we would not have been able to otherwise have. 

I do not like to speak of a silver lining in a catastrophe. There are no hidden blessings in a pandemic of disease and death ravaging our planet. But there are so many people responding to the situation by discovering and developing new ways to connect and create. We’re so glad to be part of that conversation with this event.

Paul T. Corrigan

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Varo’s Moon: Homage to Remedios Varo, by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso (USA) contemporary

​Hidden in Plain Sight

What sorcery is such to capture the moon,
place it in a gilded cage,
dangle the keys on foreign fingertips?
 
The hinge creaks
as she opens the door
to devour my light.
 
What alchemy swirls the spoon in the tea cup,
where my glow is channelled,
that she might drink until she is full?
 
In her wake, I am left crescent. Hungry.
I hum. Vibrate. Beam, even.
 These are involuntary acts
 
like blink or breath. They supersede will.
These waves of sound. This constant
rhythm that beats so beautifully against the glass
 
she is compelled to dance. Drown
her own misery to the tune of mine.
This music brings her joy. She cannot reach these notes.
 
Or hear the crack inside.
 
My life force is drained. But a moon
will not be extinguished. Even as it suffers,
to shine is its nature.
 
I fade, then rest
before assuming my next form
Paso a paso, el remedio--
 
Step by step, the cure.
 
Lisa Pegram


Lisa Pegram, MFA is a DC native living in Curaçao. A writer, arts integration specialist and personal chef, she is founder of the Shakti Brigade, an international women arts collective that juxtaposes literature, visual arts, music and wellness.


Quarantine
​

(Should your soul resemble a moon 
shrunk lamp size or a sheet worn ghost thin 

or a negative drying in a darkroom
or an infant cholicy gumming spoonfuls of gruel

or an owl old and caged watching out with one large eye
please note

your symptoms require time 
                                                      alone.)
Paul T. Corrigan

Paul T. Corrigan teaches creative writing and academic writing at the University of Tampa. His essays and poems appear in a number of publications, including The Ekphrastic Review. Twice he won the Rattle Ekphrastic Challenge.





Visions of Passenger Pigeons

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Visions of Passenger Pigeons,by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso (USA) contemporary

Martha, the Last Passenger Pigeon

Martha, the last passenger pigeon,
had heard the stories
of how the sky vibrated 
with wings of her wild kin, 
swirling dark clouds
stirring up the world
for miles, acorns and berries
by the bushel disappearing
overnight.

She carried inside her
the tales of trees
felled by the thousands.

She saw how men
with foul breath, 
and not much skill 
used their guns to kill, 
filling hunting bags 
with bodies of birds.

Martha, spared the fate
of a sharp, quick bullet, 
fell into a trap set by men 
with kind intentions.
Scientists with nets
collected her and a few
less bright cousins,
confining them 
for public view
in the Cincinnati zoo. 

Martha charmed curious
crowds, fulfilling every
expectation; flitting, 
hopping, bowing,nibbling,
though never singing. 
She left that part to the birds
she saw soaring past by the patch
of sky outside 
her cage.

Anna Cotton

Anna Cotton is a lifelong learner and writer whose joy is celebrating connections in the wonder of being.


We Are God’s Best Creation

We’ve all heard the tale.
“In the beginning,
God made heaven and earth.
He made water, sky, trees.
He made fish, birds, animals.
And it was good.”
But on the sixth day,
He made liars.
He made cheaters and thieves;
Murderers.
 
And it was good
Until fiery red blood
Dripped down their sides,
Nature’s hand trying desperately
To wring their throats.
 
Yet, the liars prevailed,
And poisoned air
And uprooted forests
And corrupted waters
And poisoned air
While the heavens and earth,
The water and sky,
The fish, birds, and animals
Fell around them.
And the liars claimed they suffered.
 
And they clothed themselves
In their fur coats
And placed feathered hats
On their heads,
Billows of suffocating smoke
Rising from their lips,
Yet, they ask,
“Whatever happened to those 
passenger pigeons?”

Asela Madson

Asela Madson is an undergraduate at Southeastern University.


The Burning of Adelaide Labille-Guiard’s Masterpiece

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The Burning of Adelaide Labille-Guiard’s Masterpiece, by Gabriela Gonzalez Delosso (USA) contemporary

Adelaide

My father hawked his linen, satin, twill 
in indigo and turkish red 
a lady can’t insist on being seen he’d say, 
but once she’s seen, one shouldn’t want to look away
 
I was trained for smallness --
the glisten on a pearl --
an inch of venice lace --
I knew you could see a life 
in the palm of an aging hand 
 
Rare creatures in this world insist on being seen 
the cadmium macaw 
a powdered princess wig 
the general’s bayonet
 
That ancient bird born homely in the morning
spread wide as a battlefield 
and all aflame by night
 
Smoke’s the dying breath of every prideful thing
and a fanfare of release 
for everything that’s humble 
 
Madeline Holland


Madeline Holland lives in Brooklyn and works for Talent Beyond Boundaries, an NGO which connects displaced people with international work to rebuild their lives. 


Lovelace

Flowing blue satin and frilly lace
The smell of ash and burning paper, 
Smoke curls around his scowling face 
Red white and blue wrapped in vapor,
The touch of the torch sucked out her oxygen
Her bleary eyes, and paint-covered fingers set ablaze as they singed
Everything was dark, the light fell to black so suddenly,
The ash heart was swept away in the wind 

Ireland Dempster

Ireland Dempster is graduating from Southeastern University in 2020. In her final year, she was promoted to Publishing Editor for Southeastern’s undergraduate journal, Oracle. Ireland Dempster is transitioning to freelance writing with plans to expand her career in digital international education, journalism and web-writing. She is also deciding between pursuing an MFA at the University of British Columbia or an M.A. in Publication at Emory University.


The Bouquet

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The Bouquet, by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso (USA) contemporary

Thanatology/Toxicology

To hold a bouquet
(larkspur and hemlock)
is to cradle, cup, crush
(oleander and azalea)
a handful of living
(spider lily)
at its natural conclusion
(foxglove)
memento mori
(nightshade)
for fine hands and former
glories grasping gentle living and unliving
to the trudging heart

Sara Rodriguez

Sara Rodriguez is a junior undergrad at Southeastern University, studying creative writing and psychology. Her favourite poem is “Sea Fever” by John Masefield.

​

Más Que Un Ramo (More Than a Bouquet)

Cada ramo 
(Each bouquet)
Holds a tale 
Quien solamente
(That only) 
Tenga el toque especial
(Has the special touch)
Para revelar 
(To reveal)

Those who have the gift
Can restore what was once apart
Unirlos como la familia que son 
(Unite them like the family they are)
Can understand where they come from
And who they are going to be

Saben donde van y para cuál ocasión
(Know where they are going and for what occasion)
Whether it be a beautiful day 
Or the day of the last goodbye

Cada flor 
(Every flower)
Cada colour 
(Every colour)
Cada historia 
(Every story)
Es más que un ramo 
(Is more than a bouquet)

Natasha Mercado

Natasha Mercado is a student at Keiser University. Some of her favourite poets are Joy Harjo and Maya Angelou. She hopes to in the future incorporate her writing skills into her music. Her favourite ways to write are poetry, journaling, and listing.


Homage to Sophie Gengembre Anderson
​

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Homage to Sophie Gengembre Anderson, by Gabriela Gonzalez Delloso (USA) contemporary

Through the Looking Glass

Darkness crochets in russet circles
Her fingers 
trace up the Persian leather spine 
 
Denim roots take their breath in frames
Gold drips 
from a veiled amaranth
They make long tendrils of my glances
 
She sinks
Deep into her chair 
Breaks her words into vignettes
Smoke swirls 
in brushstrokes of emeralds and honey
She remembers their favorite words
 
Easy smirks 
and sandalwood burnt alone
Like secrets 
tucked away in broken jars
They never thought she saw them
 
Marigold whispers 
Mix in 
moments 
with thyme
She cradles them
Moments in time
 
Crushed embers kindle rune storms
Her fingers 
Turn back the pages
Darkness crochets in russet circles
 
Lynda Nguyễn


Lynda Nguyễn is a queer Viet organizer who works on the intersections of culture and healing justice. DC native now Brooklyn resident, she spends most of her time curating public programs for Asian and Pacific Islander communities and reading graphic novels.


Clown with Monocle (Self Portrait)
​

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Clown with Monocle (Self Portrait), by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso (USA) contemporary

Clown with Monocle (Self Portrait)

Me, seen and thoroughly shaken
You, this someone I am taken with.
 
This someone that wears
cologned lace folds,
powdered white formations
jellied red triangles,
with the vibrance of a blue bird in morning song.
 
She’s got something palpable.
laughter.
 
The stage curtain rises,
as do my eyes.
I spy bombastic parades
Under big top brights.
Saturations of color and shine.
She shows, goes and closes.
How come I don’t feel light?
 
Quick!
Sprint. Scour. Breathless.
Find her,
Find me
backstage.
Hiding.
 
Squat. Squint.
Stay put
in darkness.
Wait. Blink.
Panic,
Then destiny makes an entrance.
Grin from the temples.
Ogle; mouth open.
See naked ear way, see clear monocle.
 
Me, this cannibal.
Full throated.
Feasts on your performance,
long over.
 
But you,
your eyes.
At this angle, aside.
Darting,
threatening.
Impolite.
 
Render a message to me who hides:
Get your own elation.
And let go of mine.
 
Camylle Fleming


Camylle Fleming is an African-American birth doula and herbalist-in-training based in Lagos, Nigeria.


If My Face Is White
 
It is for shame your fabulous ruff of muslin and lace
Forsakes the fragility of your porcelain face.
Behind your colourless eyes
The promise of a breakable guise
Optics unique to your guileless kind
When the true comedy is not your antics
But the sadness you hide.

In the cheers which empty
Laughter’s ironic plenty
Yet redeemed can neither be
By the clown’s cloddish mimicry.

Not even the children are fooled by you.
With painted pattern of invalid wounds
Debonair monocle marring innocent truths

Pierrot—you bleeding rose
Blooming in a garden of ceramic folds

In powdered buds, of fading mold,
Crowned with trumpet vine, pyritic gold
Take now your righteous throne,
Darling clown, devoid of proper home.

You dawdle on stage for an audience that never shows
Occupying the black backdrop of a life
One would never dream to play alone.

It is for shame this clown cannot strangle his shadow.

He who strides the stardust without his sight

He whose lips are sealed with the silent kiss of a coward’s heart.

Stephanie Bontell

Stephanie Bontell is a graduate student pursuing her masters degree at Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, where she is focusing her scholarship on the impact of global climate change on gender equity. Though Stephanie is passionate about many subjects, poetry remains her truest love upon her reading of the Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms at age 13. Adamant about the immense potential it has to transform our world into a more empathetic place, Stephanie considers herself, above all else, a zealous advocate for poetry’s healing power.


Self Portrait Homage to Frida Kahlo
​

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Self Portrait Homage to Frida Kahlo, by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso (USA) contemporary

Frida

“There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley, and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst”
                             It all goes dark.
Pain cripples and seeps into every turn and breath.
             It manifests in her muscles and body. A temporary pain.

Oh Frida, surreal realistic self-portraits
             in a time where beauty was in the eyes of society.
transcending existential art 
                            anchored on Mexican femininity.
Making a mark as the first Latina 
                            with a mark in the Louvre
But there’s more to the art of love than the love of art.

Frida and Diego; the dove and the elephant.
“The power-couple” but everything is three-sided.
              Sufferer, accuser, and onlooker.

Pain cripples and seeps into every touch and whisper.
                           It resides in her thoughts and her heart. 
This body is closed.
              Pinks, yellows, reds, and oranges
Embedded with affairs and
Built on mexicanidad- owning her roots.

People wanted the façade, but you said no.
“I never paint dreams or nightmares. I paint my own reality.”

Jade Browne

Jade Browne is an undergraduate at Southeastern University.
​


Homage Composition
​

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Homage Composition, by Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso (USA) contemporary

Lobster Bisque

“Dinner’s ready!” 

you say, left hand sprinkling
tiny green onions
into a lobster bisque
 
I wake up inhaling spells
of spiced coconut-milk peppered 
with sensual cinnamon 
sliced by the hands of god herself
 
The air smells of fresh chives 
and olive oil, thickened by thyme 
and carrots that play with my
sense of time and space
 
We unwind like lavender 
wine in a world
aislado naked 
like lizards on the wire 
 
You’re the sunlight that enters
houses, the softness of fresh bread, 
blandito as it dips in our 
orange soup
 
Your strong arm kneads
and sage gaze seeds
a rose too gentle
for men of this time
 
Priscilla Velez


Priscilla Velez is a Puerto Rico-raised Cuban-American who lives in Tampa, Florida. She is an educator, singer, dancer, creative, activist, and lover of life.


Response by the Painter

​


Gabriela Gonzalez Dellosso is a fine artist, known for her homage self-portraits to historical women artists and narrative paintings. She is a native New Yorker, of Cuban and Ecuadorian heritage. Her artistic roots can be found on both sides of her family. Her maternal grandmother and great-grandfather were well respected and published poets in South America. Gabriela’s father studied painting and drawing in Cuba during the pre-Castro era. As a child, she remembers trips to the Metropolitan Museum of Art with her father, where they used to study paintings together. Gabriela received a BFA from the School of Visual Arts in NYC. Her work has been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide, including two solo exhibitions at The Butler Institute of American Art in 2006 and 2016. Her work can be found in many permanent museum collections. She teaches painting and drawing at the New York School of the Arts, NYC and the JCC of Manhattan. More information about her work can be found at gabrieladellossoart.com.

​
2 Comments
Ms. Hurwitz
9/21/2020 12:20:22 pm

I just want to say how fantastic each poem is. I needed to put my mind into another dimension of time particularly now with everything that is going on in this world and that is what they did. That is exactly what viewing Ms. Dellosso's paintings does to me. They fill my soul with a sense of wonderment and joy because they are so beautiful. So the poetry paired with Ms. Dellosso's paintings was a perfect union.

Thanks.

Reply
Paul T. Corrigan
9/22/2020 10:54:58 pm

Thanks so much, Ms. Hurwitz! What an encouraging comment!

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