Throwback Thursdays with Marjorie Robertson

This week’s Throwback Thursday offers poems and short fiction inspired by beloved paintings you’re sure to recognize but will feel as though you’re seeing with new eyes. The archival selections also include photos and art you might not have seen before and will love experiencing through words.    

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Two Students Looking at a Postcard of a Painting by Gustav Klimt While Listening to Gavin Walker Play Jazz at the Classical Joint Coffee House, Vancouver, BC, by Tom Wayman

Multiple threads in this lovely piece inspired by a Gustav Klimt’s The Lady in Gold.

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/two-students-looking-at-a-postcard-of-a-painting-by-gustav-klimt-while-listening-to-gavin-walker-play-jazz-at-the-classical-joint-coffee-house-vancouver-bc-by-tom-wayman

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Living With What I Cannot Find, by David B. Prather

From Mary Cassatt’s Red Poppies: “Maybe the tall grass behind me says what I want to hear, tells me a day like this is all I need.” 

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/living-with-what-i-cannot-find-by-david-b-prather

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Tessellations, by Marian Christie

An M.C. Escher-inspired poem: “as cream curdles in a snarl of salamanders fluorescent on the walls”

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/tessellations-by-marian-christie

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The Red Monk, by D.D. Renforth

The Kalaish Temple, the Ellora Caves of India inspires this fictional piece: “’Is your real as real as mine?’ the red monk asked Rachel as he laughed.”

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/the-red-monk-by-dd-renforth

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Albrecht Dürer and Albrecht Altdorfer: A Genealogy, by Adam Pollak

“One Albrecht was raised by a metal-man, a gold-father named Albrecht.” 

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/albrecht-durer-and-albrecht-altdorfer-a-genealogy-by-adam-pollak

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Dialogue in Green, by Irene Willis

I love this painting, Dialogue in Green, by Will Barnet, the poem, a tribute to the painter: “as if the energy in her hand lighted the eyes and the cat knew how they held each other in silence”

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/dialogue-in-green-by-irene-willis

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Reflection on a Portrait, by Lee Nash

A black and white photograph led to this poem: “Yet I know that something open begs us to go through…”

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/reflection-on-a-portrait-by-lee-nash

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Notes on the Painting, Gas, by Edward Hopper, by Mark Trechock

With Gas by Edward Hopper, this poem takes us down the road to a time long ago at a Mobil station in a way that feels like today: “A red winged horse flies like a flag above the scene but cannot move”

https://www.ekphrastic.net/ekphrastic/notes-on-the-painting-gas-by-edward-hopper-by-mark-trechock

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Wee Marjorie.

​There are more than seven 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 occasional Throwback Thursday feature highlights writing from our past, chosen on purpose or chosen randomly. We are grateful that moving forward, Marjorie Robertson wants to share some favourites with us on a regular basis, monthly.  With her help, 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 10 or so 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, or a pull quote line from the poem and story, 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].

Let's have some fun with this- along with your picks, send a vintage photo of yourself too!