I See a Darkness: Surprise Ekphrastic Halloween Challenge

10/1/2017

Isle of the Dead, by Arnold Böcklin (Switzerland). 1880.

I See a Darkness

I want you to go down deep into darkness for this writing challenge.

Trigger warning: these are not easy works to examine.

There's an old cliche that art should comfort the disturb and disturb the comfortable.

I do believe we should "keep our minds on the things above." I also believe we must sometimes examine the deep waters that surround us. Grief, pain, and fear make us fully human, and understanding darkness and confronting pain and evil are essential aspects of life, important to our creativity and spirituality.

Halloween Poetry Challenge "Rules"

1. There are no "rules." Do as much or as little as you can. Try for more, but accept what is. The goal is to write a poem or prose about each artwork, even if the words are discarded. Then, send your best works in for possible publication.

2. We suggest, but not demand, that you attempt to write about all the prompts, even when words are discarded. That gives you the full experience curated for you, and a deeper voyage to the heart of art and poetry.

Because we are inundated, we ask that you only send your best!

We can only publish a fraction of the good works that come from this ekphrastic writing experience. Of course it is wonderful to publish and see your name and share your work, but the experience is also about digging deeper, seeing, thinking, examining, feeling, reflecting.

3. You may use the painting as a launching pad that inspires a poem (or prose!), or you may research the piece and delve more deeply into the intentions or life of the artist, as you are inspired.

DEADLINE: October 31, 2017
Please send them early if you are finished something great!

Please note: Deadlines are suggested, not etched in stone. If you find this post after the fact, or are inspired at a later date, We write, read, and consider poems on all themes and all artworks anytime, including challenge works.

submit:
theekphrasticreview@gmail.com