This course focuses on stretching our ekphrastic imagination by looking at and writing from artworks by women. Ekphrastic writing has a long history, but a simple definition is “writing inspired by art.” An ekphrastic practice fires up our imagination and expands our writing; writing after art, in turn, expands our understanding of art. Even today, it is estimated that less than a fifth of exhibition and acquisition in major galleries and museums feature women’s art. Discover the fascinating story of women in art history, and how exploring their work can ignite your writing. We will look at a diverse range of images from women artists through history and all over the world, and use their themes for discussion and fuel for a range of creative exercises. We will also read some ekphrastic poetry from wonderful authors after the work of women artists.

Four weeks: $150USD 

Click here for more information and to register (scroll down):
https://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/classroom/LoretteLuzajic_EkphrasticPoetry.html

Format:

4 weeks for 120 minutes in person via Zoom each week: Wednesdays, 6 pm - 8 pm EST. Dates: September 3, 10, 17, and 24. The class will include time for sharing in class and peer comments. The instructor will also offer feedback on four assignments via email.

The course includes (optional) 30-minute one-on-one Zoom consultation (an opportunity to ask questions, discuss project development, or just an informal chat.)

Testimonials:

Lorette is a powerful writer and generous teacher and I'm so grateful I found her prose poetry course. She introduced me to the form with thoughtful writing prompts, provided extensive background and analysis, and welcomed everyone with a spirit of kindness and inclusion that never wavered. I'm inspired. ~ Sonia Weaver

I knew very little of prose poetry until I took this workshop. Four weeks was not enough... I wish we had more weeks to continue learning and experimenting with our prose poetry! The information shared taught us so much. I had no idea about this genre's freedom and diversity of expression in language and form. I write narrative poetry and found joy in experimentation as I revised some of these to prose poetry - the narrative became clearer, and I experienced the freedom from line and rhyme, yet felt how rhythm and rhyme became stronger, with the piece evoking more from me as a writer. I am so glad I took your workshop! ~ Evelyn J.C.

Lorette's class in prose poetry exceeded my high expectations and I look forward to taking another class with her. She is an excellent and organized teacher who set a comfortable atmosphere for sharing, as well as providing very useful handouts and generous feedback on our poems. ~ Maureen S.

Workshops with Lorette are a dive into treasures: rich resources she shares, support and enthusiasm she generously gives, and the inspiration that abounds in her offerings. ~ Fran T.

In Lorette Luzajic's four-week course on Writing Prose Poetry, I learned how to flex my linguistic muscle, experiment with form, and deepen my enthusiasm for poetic form better suited to my own narrative style. ~ Barbara Krasner, Somerset, NJ USA

The Prose Poetry class with Lorette was a joy! Such a terrific blend of writing time, history, skills exercises, and tips on publishing. I highly recommend it! ~ Andrea R.

Lorette is an outstanding instructor of prose poetry. She takes a personal interest in each student by being inclusive during class and also meeting 1:1 with each. Lorette gives informative instruction as well as examples, exercises, and helpful feedback. I would love to take another course from Lorette in the future. ~ Leslie C.

When I register for a Lorette-led workshop, invariably I discover that I'm needing this gifted writing teacher in my life to move off the dime. Lorette's brilliance is matched by her colorful Zoom presence replete with zany glasses and splashy original murals in the background. Lorette goes the extra miles to present material that is stimulating and thoughtful. She is generous and kind when giving feedback. So helpful as my inner critic stops me from sitting down to write on my own. Her prompts open me up to my inner life that sits patiently waiting for the chance to come out and play. Lorette's sense of humor and love of the silly moment makes class engaging. Take a chance, get off the fence and sign up for a workshop. You get a lot of bang for your buck with Lorette. You'll also meet like-minded writers to build community and shared purpose. ~ Karen O.

Having taken several of Lorette's workshops, and both her courses offered through WOW, I feel qualified to speak of her masterful teaching techniques. She brings every ounce of her own artisanship and passion for art right up to the podium and then exudes not just knowledge but a refreshing sense of wonder, amazement and enthusiasm for the content of her subject matter... She becomes a co-equal adventurer with those of us who follow her guidance. Thank you WOW for bringing Lorette into this community. Again, she is one among a short list of my very favorite (for their excellence) teachers. ~ Karen FitzGerald

It gives me great pleasure to say that Lorette has made this course on Prose Poetry exciting and informative! During the four weeks we met which flew by, she generously offered her online support, gave us tons of course resources, and encouraged while interacting with us, interesting discussions relating to prose poetry. Furthermore, She gave us writing prompt activities and gave us ample time to share our writings from them. I would definitely recommend this class, and take another one with Lorette C. Luzajic! ~ Sharon O. B.

Lorette's course provides a multitude of opportunities to practice the craft of writing in a supportive, non-judgmental setting. In four weeks, my confidence grew and my creativity blossomed. ~ Allison C.

Lorette has a deep knowledge of prose poetry. The resources she provides, and the enthusiasm with which she shares her knowledge, made this one of the best online writing courses I have taken. She is organized, providing a wealth of information and examples of the concepts under discussion. And she is open-hearted: She authentically welcomes writers in her class to be part of the prose-poem-writing community and offers positive and helpful responses to the writing shared with her. As a teacher myself I appreciate her attention to creating such a welcoming and stimulating environment, and to delivering interesting, well-paced content. This four-week course flew by. It was just the right amount of time and depth for the time I had available. I've already recommended it to some writer friends, and I plan to take another course from her when my schedule allows. ~ Joanne

Lorette is generous with her time, knowledge, and encouragement. Not only did I leave the class with a whole whack of poems that I am happy with and that I will revise, she also helped me work through some blocks I was having. ~ Linda S

I just finished my first four-part prose poetry workshop with Lorette Luzajic, and it has been an incredible journey! The experience was truly transformative for me. Lorette's master of creative writing is evident in every session, and I love her engaging presentation style and her lively class discussions. She is one of the most colorful and inspiring individuals I have ever met. Her passion for writing is contagious, and you can't help but feel motivated during and after each class! Each week, she presents a thoughtful and enriching curriculum filled with valuable information on poets, poems, writing exercises, homework, and more. Moreover, she is extremely generous with her time, offering detailed critiques of work we submit after a session, providing invaluable feedback that helps her students grow as writers. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found my way to her workshops, and I look forward to participating in many more of them! ~ Barbara A.

My class with Lorette was a deep dive into the fantastical underwater world of prose poetry, and I couldn't imagine having a better guide among the anemone and sea creatures. Each week Lorette shared gorgeous and varied examples of this rebel genre and art form, broadening my vision of what prose poetry can be and do, along with creative prompts that inspired our group to write. Her teachings will stay with me for a long time. ~ Wendy Kagan

Lorette is a marvellous teacher. Her thoughtful and well-organized course outline and lessons are paired with time for generative writing, sharing drafts, and discussions during class. Lorette's tremendous knowledge, creativity, and warmth permeate her classes as well as her written feedback on students' writing and private one-on-one meetings. She inspires her students to see and hear words and the world in new ways. ~ Sharon R.

Lorette's prose poetry class was so rich and rewarding, providing everything I was seeking: historical context, technique, prompts, reading recommendations, publication tips, and more. She was generous with feedback and responsive to questions, creating a welcoming and stimulating environment. I'd jump at the chance to study with her again. ~ Tracy R.

Deep Ekphrasis is the continuation of the Love and Loss ekphrastic immersion program. We will continue to explore art and write from the heart on themes of love and loss, while being open to a broader array of themes for visuals, writing and discussion. The emphasis will be on community, connection, relationships with other writers, discussion, and developing and sharing our poetry and flash fiction with each other. The goal is to continue an experience of intimacy and foster connection and support between writers, providing a place of safety to explore art and open-hearted writing. The group will decide on themes together for the biweekly zoom events.

The core of the group will be those who worked together on Love and Loss. Depending on interest and numbers, we will open the experience to other writers, capping registrations at ten. (There were eleven members of Love and Loss due to a calculation error from Lorette. If all of these wish to continue in Deep Ekphrasis, that is fine.)

The group will continue to connect in the Facebook page to share their work, news, and chat with each other as they enjoy. We will use this group to encourage each other and offer supportive feedback. Lorette will offer feedback on at least four pieces per author throughout the program, while striving to comment on as many as possible.

There is a break between Dec and Jan because the date lands very close to the holidays.

The price is the same for Love and Loss, while adding two weeks- eight instead of six. We want this program to offer meaningful value for an experience of longer connection with each other.  

$200USD/$275 CAD 

If you are not interested or cannot join this round, please let me know as soon as possible. Please register before October 10. If you intend to register and need more time, please reach out. 

Looking forward to these sessions!
 
Wednesday, October 29, 2025 4 to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 4 to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, November 26,  2025 4 to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, December 10, 2025 4 to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, January 7,  2026 4 to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, January 21, 2025 4 to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, February 4, 2026  4 to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, February 18, 2026,  4 to 5:30 eastern time

​19th December 1972

We left you then and you look no different. Of course, we’ve all changed. Some of us have shuffled off; others - grown old.  I looked up last night and grainy footage replayed in my head - a small boy watching one small step, and a little later, the last man leaving. Then long years on fast forward. Then now.

This old top-loader of tangled neurons: it still works well enough in ‘play’. But the rewind button has, of late, become faulty.

moon
in the living room
dad in flared trousers

Alan Peat 

Alan Peat is an English writer. In 2021 he placed third in the International Golden Triangle Haiku contest & second in the New Zealand International Haiku contest. In 2022 he was runner up in the British Haiku Society Haibun Award; honourable mention in the Haiku Poets of North California International Haibun contest & second in the Sandford Goldstein international tanka contest. In 2022 he was a guest author at Cornell University’s Mann Library. The following year he won the inaugural Touchstone Award for haibun. He has also written books about ceramics, textiles and surrealist art.

​And What is the Heart?
                                          --Ikkyū
                                             
To think that we are inhaling
the exhalation of stars.  A large idea.  
 
Is the sky’s mind kindred with ours?
If so, who’s doing the thinking?
 
Tonight before bed 
I read you the haiku selected at random:
 
The heart, what is it,
is it the sound of the pine trees
there in the painting?
 
Later, on the edge of sleep I say
“Yes, what better to be than emptiness?”
 
But unless you are dreaming
you’ve already stepped into oblivion.

Laura Ann Reed

Laura Ann Reed was born in Berkeley, California, earned her B.A. from The University of California, Berkeley which included a year at l’Université Aix-Marseille in France, and lived most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area before relocating to the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Grant Reed, in 2004. She earned a master’s degree in the performing arts and taught modern dance and ballet at the University of California before earning a master’s degree in clinical psychology.  Her work has been published in seven anthologies, including Poetry of Presence Volume II and has appeared in numerous journals in the United States, Great Britain and Ireland.  She is a contributing editor with the Montréal Review.

​
Frenemies
 
The appearance of a man of outstanding creative talent
is very often accompanied by that of another great artist
at the same time and in the same place so that the two
can inspire and emulate each other.
                                                            Giorgio Vasari
 
Florence, 1408-1415
 
Hard to imagine he was unaware of his talent,
a man who questioned everything, whose work was concentrated agony.
Sometimes he hated getting out of bed. Was it worthy
or was it lacking? Was he any good?
 
His friend Filippo had no such qualms, a polymath wearing his skill with ease.
He could manipulate a piece of twine into something whimsical,
his fingers moving unmindful at the table
as he talked with his friends drinking wine.
 
For the commission of Santa Croce, Donatello worked a wooden cross.
Every splinter, every shaving was a cause for doubt.
He paced the room, gulped water, returned to the crucifix,
stared at it, removed a small bit of wood.
Eventually, it neared completion, and as the figured emerged,
he allowed himself a rousing thought: the piece was pretty good.
 
“I’ve hit on something this time, as if my hands were driven,”
he told his friends in a café that evening.
They listened keenly as he rarely discussed his work.
The feeling he described was not unknown to them.
 
Filippo saw it first, and couldn’t hide his chagrin.
This figure of Christ, too raw-boned, too thick.
“I think it needs work,” he told his friend,
“think, in fact, you best start again.
It has the shape of a peasant, not the son of God.”
 
We can imagine how Donatello must have felt;
though his face, wooden as the cross,
showed no hint of disappointment,
no outward sign that anything was amiss.
We, he, everyone, struggles to contain the hurt.
 
His voice in check, a monotone, he said;
“If it was as easy to make something as it is to criticize,
my Christ would look to you like Christ.
Go get some wood and make one more to your liking.”
 
In the months that pass, Donatello berates himself, works on nothing,
questions his own judgment. 
His friends meet for drinks and talk of other things:
The progress of grants, good food, the women in the square.
 
In time, Filippo asks his friend to his home.
In the courtyard before the door, in good light,
hangs Filippo’s Christ.
Its design is perfection, its execution sublime.
It does what any bishop hopes it would: Uplifts.
 
Awestruck, Donatello looks,
marveling not at its beauty,
or even at Filippo’s ability.
He is thinking instead of all the work ahead of him.
 
Larry Kilman

Larry Kilman is a graduate of Syracuse University with a dual major in art history and magazine writing. He is a journalist and poet who has been lucky enough to live and work on four continents. His poems have been published or will be published in a wide variety of journals, including Epiphany, Mudfish 4, Brief Wilderness and 7th-Circle Pyrite. He lives in South Africa.

Return to Sender

 
Monday morning, I wake up with a cardboard box for a head. 

There are tiny slits cut out for my eyes. 

Inside, it’s not black but a deep blue. 

I push against the walls of the box with my fingers, feeling the rough cardboard, but there’s no escape.

I fumble for the toolkit I never use but suppose every great man should own.

I try to shake the box off. 

I’m left with nothing but the urge to revisit my latest online buys. 

It’s something I do late at night when the Sunday scaries kick in: buy mystery boxes from the dark web. 

There are no clues in my recent buys as to where this box has come from.

I think and think, until finally, I step out onto South Main Street. 

My head feels light, like dissolving smoke. 

A chill passes through my skin, the cardboard scraping my neck as it shifts with every step. 

The box smells faintly of ink and stale air. 

Something tells me this is just the start. 

Soon, other parts of me will turn to cardboard.

I am becoming so fragile that a gust of wind could send my whole being down the street, taken in by alley dumpsters and the local garbage men, left to decompose in a landfill until, twenty years later, I turn into methane gas and become one with the earth.  

No. I’ll go out with a bang. 

Yeah, that’s how people will remember me. 

I’ll go to the local post office to get shipping labels and packing tape.

I’ll send sawed-off pieces of myself in boxes to people all over the country I’ve lost contact with: past lovers, childhood friends, distant family and cracked tombstones where dates crawl with ants.  

Macy, the girl I kissed on the cheek in first grade under the desk during playtime, will get my right arm. 

My best friend Charles from band camp: I’ll send him my left foot, the one I used to kick the drums. 

I could start small, a pinkie finger. 

Or go big, a whole torso. 

I feel great in a way. 

At least people all over the country will find pieces of me in heart and hand shaped boxes. 

But of course, it’s too early for any shops to be open. 

Ever since insomnia took over my life, I haven’t known how to fill those hours between midnight and before I’m due in for work. 

I turn to head back to my apartment. 

When I cross the road, a garbage truck almost runs me over. 

I can’t see well through my slits for eyes. 

My right arm has turned to cardboard. 

It feels lighter, like it will tear off at the slightest touch. 

I will have to call in sick, something I haven’t done in seven years. 

How do I explain what’s happening to me to my boss Barry? 

Barry, who sits opposite my desk, typing emails that mean nothing. 

Barry, who eats the same tuna melt every lunch. 

Boring Barry, but I’d never say that to his face. 

I make my way to the front door of the apartment complex. 

It’s not just Barry anymore. 

It’s everyone I know. 

What’ll Lucy say? 

Lucy, who I pass daily on the elevator but struggle to make eye contact with, my third-floor crush who smells like sandalwood. 

But she won’t know it’s me. 

She’ll think I’m a guy who’s decided to cover his face with a box, hiding horrible scars or a disfiguration. 

Her mind will be racing, wondering whether I’m like Joseph Merrick, The Elephant Man, because under the box could be anything. 

I open the door to my room and sit on my hands. 

Soon, I’ll be nothing but boxes. 

Box shins. Box elbows. Box toes. 

The box thoughts are an incessant hunger, ringing like church bells announcing the end of time. 

And as I reach my phone to text Barry, it hits me:

if waking up with my head replaced by a box is normal, and sending sawed-off pieces of myself in boxes is possible…
​
then what else could happen?

Thomas McEvoy

Thomas McEvoy is a Paraguayan-born British writer who has lived in several countries, including Panama, Honduras, Ecuador, Japan, Canada, Spain, and England. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Creative and Critical Writing at the University of Liverpool. His fiction has appeared or is forthcoming in J Journal: New Writing for Justice, Scoundrel Time, Collateral Journal, and Libre. His flash fiction story River Without Current won the Shooter Flash monthly competition for March 2025. You can find his writing at www.thomasmcevoy.uk.

after Passages East West 1, by Raymond Saunders (USA) 1987
https://ocula.com/art-galleries/andrew-kreps-gallery/artworks/raymond-saunders/passages-east-west-1/

Meanwhile You’ll Find Me in Oaxaca 
​
for a dozen of your hen’s eggs John cuts your hair
Bo’ says I’ll taxi you to town for tutoring my girl
 
Reina has her otoscope   she’ll examine your ears  
If you’ll set straight her plumbing conundrum 
 
Our community will be our kryptonite
prices of cowpeas and mangos have risen
someone neglected to renew the sun’s contract
 
so Carol’s offering a week of fresh fish for fixing her roof
 
the rich demand we work through stormy weather or bright
jot this number down to get your windows cleaned
 
don’t despair yet     I beg of you all
the sunflowers are drooping    having yielded their time
 
give pause for the tummy-wrenching hunger in the nation
the prices of eggs are now up ten dollars a dozen
 
(in lieu of listening to the blacklisted weather channel)
hear broadcasted murmurings by Mothers Immaculate
  
it appears the sunshine’s been sent on its way
while dark funnel clouds shimmy in from the west 
 
as you stomp off to bitch / ponder / and stew
a gallon of milk will soon cost you a Jackson
 
together we can sure conquer this   while divided   we’ll fail
 
Joanne Godley

Joanne Godley is a poet, writer, and art lover who resides in beautiful Mexico City. "Almost daily, my puppy, Jazz, and I walk to Twisted Tree Park (I’ve renamed it) and I think about poetry and how lucky I am to live here, while Jazz watches the squirrels."

Pink, Purple, Blue
 
Pink, Purple, Blue
 
Untitled (Red) was the Rothko
painting I chose for my red phone’s
wallpaper. 
 
I was after the band 
of pink, though I couldn’t say
why. Perhaps it was winter, and I
 
was hungry for the scent 
of cherry blossoms. They say
Rothko’s an artist whose paintings 
 
you must see in person,
looming in his chapel or vibrant in a museum. 
Yes, you want to fall
  
to your knees 
and worship. No transcendent 
hidden principle,
 
just the vermillion’s 
promise. Then 
I found his Pink, Purple, Blue,
 
a lover who came to me 
from scrolling 
through a gallery of prints
 
on a tiny screen. The one 
painting I’d spent 
a lifetime waiting for.
   
Rothko led me:
bright blocks of purple and pink
divided by a scalloped
 
midnight blue, free 
of all associations.
His colours food.
 
Laurel Brett
​
Laurel Brett is a poet, essayist and novelist inspired by visual representations of the world around her. She selected the shade of green of the cover of her novel, The Schrödinger Girl, with care. She has been previously published in One Art, Second Coming, The Nassau Review and various anthologies including Songs of Seasoned Women. Her collection of poems, Mourning Without Birdsong is a radio play. She is particularly inspired by light and color. She enjoyed a long career as a college professor and lives overlooking a harbor and drinking in the green-blue waters of Long Island Sound.

Writing on Love and Loss: an ekphrastic immersion

Take your writing to the next level with community, discussion, engagement with art, and a deep dive into themes of love and loss. This program is for those who have embraced the ekphrastic life and want to immerse themselves in their ekphrastic practice and an intimate experience with a community of like-minded people, writing on deeper themes. It will offer accountability, discussion, feedback, and connection. 

Each week, writers will respond to a selection of artworks on the theme of love and loss, directed by questions and creative exercises, in a 1.5 hour zoom.  We will gather to share our words, discuss the paintings and our process, and share our ideas and progress. Lorette will offer feedback on six finished drafts per writer, whether poetry or small fictions. Writers will also connect inside a private Facebook group for the duration of the program, where we can post drafts, comments, discussion, ideas, suggestions, artworks, questions, etc.

The goal of this circle is to connect with each other, create a safe space for vulnerable discussion on essential but difficult themes, learn more about visual art and use it to trigger meaningful conversation and inspiration, bounce ideas and work in progress off other writers, and to create a small body of finished work.

Participants’ best works will be gathered into a chapbook that The Ekphrastic Review will publish and share with the world. Each writer will get three author copies. The price will be kept low to be accessible to all readers, and offered free to the public as a pdf.

Limited to ten participants.

Cost $200USD/$275CAD

Dates: Wednesday, August 6, 2025- 4 pm to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, August 13, 2025- 4 pm to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, August 20, 2025- 4 pm to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, August 27, 2025- 4 pm to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, September 3, 2025- 4 pm to 5:30 eastern time
Wednesday, September 10, 2025- 4 pm to 5:30 eastern time