Cultivating and advancing Virginia's poetry
PSV Ekphrastic Projects
From the Greek á¼”κφρασις or ekphrasis, meaning ‘description.’ An ekphrastic poem is written based on or in response to another work of art, such as a painting, photograph, or sculpture.
Views of Virginia Project
Curated by PSV member Dr. Kathleen P. Decker for PSV, VIEWS OF VIRGINIA is a reverse ekphrastic project, beginning with a series of poems to which artists were called to respond. Both the poems and the artworks created in response — including photographs, paintings, drawings, and even quilts — were on display at The Muse Writers Center until July 31, 2023. The project book, Views of Virginia is available for purchase.
Poems for this project were submitted from PSV members and students of the Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, and art was created by local Virginia artists.
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Exhibit hosted by:
Quilted Poem: An Ekphrastic Collaboration of Poets and Quilters
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Dr. Kathleen P. Decker co-led the PSV project, QUILTED POEMS with former PSV President Terry Cox-Joseph. The book is an ekphrastic collection of 45 quilts and the 65 PSV member poems that inspired them. Some of the quilts were designed as concrete representations of a poem, others use abstract symbols or abstract quilt block designs. The poems address various subjects including nature, the process of quilting and quilters, and spirituality.
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The quilts and poems exhibited in 2022 at:
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Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival (Hampton, VA)
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Original Sewing and Quilt Expo (OSQE) (Fredericksburg, VA)
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Fredericksburg Expo Center (Fredericksburg, VA)
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Dr. Kathleen P. Decker
This unique book is a wondrous melding of visual and literary art. While each poem and quilt can be viewed and appraised individually, your original perspective is further enhanced or shifted askew when merging the two mediums. This careful pairing of images and words creates an artistic synergy that is a treat to behold.
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~Bill Glose, author of Postscript to War, Virginia Walkabout, Personal Geography, Half a Man, and The Human Touch
All that we piece together from threads and fragments, stories and words— surely, work that bears the signatures of time and love. We are grateful for the poets and quilters who give us an abundance of such gifts through this anthology.
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~Luisa A. Igloria, 20th Virginia Poet Laureate
PSV Ekphrastic Partnership
David Anthony Sam
North Central Region Vice President David Anthony Sam is organizing a new ekphrastic project through a partnership with Firnew Farm Artists' Circle.
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The project calls on 12 artists and 7 or more poets to respond to each other's works. The artists will select a poem from submissions that inspires them and respond to it visually. The artists, in turn, will send photos of their artwork to poets, who will respond to the art with poems.
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Poets and artists will present work during an exhibition ceremony at The Arts Center in Orange located in downtown Orange, Virginia, scheduled for the end of March 2024. Artworks and companion framed poems will be displayed at the Arts Center and posted online.