Throwback Thursday: the Van Gogh Edition, with Jakob Brønnum​

​For years I have been wanting to pen a collection of poems on the early works of van Gogh, where everything is both existential search and haunting expressiveness. Lately I discovered that the short, sketchy manuscript probably has disappeared in the dungeons of changing computers. Luckily you are never quite on your own with poetry on Van Gogh. Here are ten very successful attempts of seeing Van Gogh.

Jakob Brønnum​

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Tina Schumann: Van Gogh in Chicago

There is such a thing as a Van Gogh-moment. Like when you see him somewhere he has never set foot

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/van-gogh-in-chicago-by-tina-schumann

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Denise Bundred: At Eternity’s Gate 

The poet Denise Bundred envisions the possibly finest achievement of Van Gogh: His ability to see existential emotion in things

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/at-eternitys-gate-by-denise-bundred

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Rhett Watts: Field Work

What are the qualifications of a saint? Somebody who in the spur of the moment forget themselves

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/field-work-by-rhett-watts

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Lee Woodman: To Step Inside His Mind

Large scale Van Gogh: A 16,000 square foot installation on Pier 36, NYC (2021). All the dots and strokes of longing for something as yet unknown become visible

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/to-step-inside-his-mind-by-lee-woodman

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Mary Moore: To the Miscarried Child, Van Gogh’s Irises At Arles

There was never a Van Gogh that did not contain an - if often labyrinthic - path to empathy

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/to-the-miscarried-child-van-goghs-irises-at-arles-by-mary-moore

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Barbara Crooker: Ears of Wheat, 1890

The artist at work; the observer observed: "no blade too slight for his attention:  long swaying brush strokes"

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/ears-of-wheat-1890-by-barbara-crooker

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Barbara Crooker: Van Gogh's Crows

The black bird remain the unsolvable mystery. The crows, the timeless raven, even the jackdaw, every autumn filling the sky with the black waves of the giant flocks over my city

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/van-goghs-crows-by-barbara-crooker

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Crystal Snoddon: With Van Gogh, I Hear Music

Lots has been said. Here it is said in a very concise way: a spirited thirst/ a scream of controlled turbulence

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/with-van-gogh-i-hear-music-by-crystal-snoddon

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Robert Walicki: On Seeing a Stranger Witness Wheatfield With Crows

The crows again, with the notion of time, embedded in their flight: "... when I first saw you,/
frozen into a past ..."

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/on-seeing-a-stranger-witness-wheatfield-with-crows-by-robert-walicki

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Christian Reifsteck: This is the Last Picture that Van Gogh Painted Before He Killed Himself

The crows for the last time. And the wheatfield: "What if we looked into everything and saw only ourselves ..." But luckily we don't. If in Van Gogh the confused flight of the crows are our latent state of mind, the wheat is always also a prayer

https://www.ekphrastic.net/the-ekphrastic-review/this-is-the-last-picture-that-van-gogh-painted-before-he-killed-himself-by-christian-reifsteck

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Jakob Brønnum has published 45 books of poetry and prose as well as other work in his native Danish. His work has appeared in La Piccioletta Barca, Beyond Words Literary Magazine, The Ekphrastic Review and the anthology New Contexts 4 (Coverstory Books, 2022). One of his books is translated into the Norwegian, one into Serbian. In 1992 a poem appeared in the legendary Literaturnaja Gazeta (in Russian). His first collection in English, A Little Book of Transcendence, was recently published by Cyberwit. He lives in Sweden with his family

Jakob Brønnum, 1975

We Want Your List of Favourites From the Archive!

There are almost eight years worth of writing at The Ekphrastic Review. With daily or more posts of poetry, fiction, and prose for most of that history, we have a wealth of talent to show off. We encourage readers to explore our archives by month and year in the sidebar. Click on a random selection and read through our history.
 
Our new Throwback Thursday feature highlights writing from our past, chosen on purpose or chosen randomly. You’ll get the chance to discover past contributors, work you missed, or responses to older ekphrastic challenges.

Would you like to be a guest editor for a Throwback Thursday? Pick around 10 favourite or random posts from the archives of The Ekphrastic Review. Use the format you see above: title, name of author, a sentence or two about your choice, and the link. Include a bio and if you wish, a note to readers about the Review, your relationship to the journal, ekphrastic writing in general, or any other relevant subject.  Put THROWBACK THURSDAYS in the subject line and send to [email protected].

Also, send a vintage photo of yourself!