This week, we explored the intersections of song, visual art and poetry through a lens of ekphrastic witnessing and storytelling. We read the song lyrics of “Vincent” by Don McClean while observing the infamous Starry Night painting by Vincent Van Gogh, and drew connections from lines in the song to how they show up within the painting. We looked at examples of other visual art such as “Madonna” by Elizabeth Catlett and analyzed the emotion and intention behind the artist’s work. Then, we began to imagine ourselves within a scene of our favorite TV show or movie, and students created poems from their perspective as imagined active participants in this show or movie.
“Untitled” by B.E.
got out of there alive
I see the exit and there was a road
with water hoses to cool down
the blue fire and I can hear
the people watching
and the sound of noise
and the smell of the building
I taste nothing
and I feel intense.
I wake up at the middle of apocalypse
the birds fall from the sky
trees are on fire
the rain is blood instead of water
there is a space ninja hunting
for the world leader.