Read Write Poem is having an ekphrastic extravaganza this week, thanks to the talents and generosity of poet and artist Rick Mobbs.

In his welcome message on his blog, Mine Enemy Grows Older, Rick says, “I started this as a place to share my own work but find I am more interested in the stories, myths, parables and poetry others weave from the images, and the collaborations that follow.”

Out of his spirit of generosity and community scores of writers have written beautiful poems and stories, which Rick has lovingly collected on a second project, The Storybook Collaborative.

The prompt this week is to choose one of Rick’s paintings (three are below, click image to enlarge) and write a poem to it. You can refer back to my article on ekphrastic poetry for ideas on how to go about using the images as prompts, or simply let the pen fly in a free write inspired by the painting.

Rick has given poets permission to post his work on their sites, but as usual, please credit his work to him, and link to his web site, Mine Enemy Grows Older.

Standing in the Shadows, by Rick Mobbs

Portrait of Nanda, by Rick Mobbs

fibonacci, by Rick Mobbs

fibonacci, by Rick Mobbs

~Christine.

* * *

A big thank you to Rick Mobbs for collaborating with Read Write Poem!


14 Responses to “read write prompt #36: ekphrastic extravaganza”

  1. 1 Jessica

    What a fantastic prompt. I’m so exicted to see what comes out of these collaborations.

  2. 2 Tiel Aisha Ansari

    Another ekphrastic weekly prompt can be found at Poefusion under “Monday Mural”.

  3. 3 Christine

    Thanks, Jessica. Rick’s paintings inspire a wide range of poems. I look forward to reading yours.

    Tiel, we’ve already highlighted Poefusion several times on Read Write Poem. Thanks for calling everyone’s attention again to Michelle’s blog. Have you seen Rick’s paintings? I’m sure they would inspire you too.

  4. 4 Jo

    I’m going away or I’d be doing number two, I’ll do it when I get back, she’s always fascinated me. This is a wonderful prompt, well done, Christine (and Rick).

  5. 5 One More Believer

    recently found Rick’s prompt.. awesome that you’ve included in yr weekly prompts… thank you as always for great material and challenges…!!

  6. 6 Nicole Nicholson

    This is actually pretty cool. I hadn’t heard of Rick’s blog until you spotlighted it. Now I’m gonna have to go over there and read more…

    -Nicole

  7. 7 Christine

    I’m glad everyone is getting a chance to view Rick’s paintings. He’s an amazingly generous artist. While you’re there, check out his poems too. They’re pretty wonderful.

  8. 8 Brad Frederiksen
  9. 9 Read Write Poem

    Brad, come back after midnight tonight. (CST) to the get your poem on post.

    This is only (even if delicious) the prompt.

  10. 10 jorc

    I chose Standing in the Shadows

    Witness
    thank you,
    jorc
    empty garden

  1. 1 Black « Raven’s Wing Poetry
  2. 2 Now « Words that sing
  3. 3 Creation’s Cusp « Donald Harbour
  4. 4 Witness « empty garden

WEEKLY READ WRITE PROMPT

Aug. 18, 2008 — The current Get Your Poem On post is here. This is where you leave us a link to your blog, this week in response to Juliet's prompt to be in the moment.

POLL DANCE

Aug. 17, 2008 —This time the poll dance is a collaboration. Meet the Funnelcakes. And the monkeys.

There's a new poll up. But you can keep talking to or about the Funnelcakes for a while.


RANDOM PROMPTS

A different word or phrase will appear here each time you visit the site or refresh the page. Your current prompt is — fumarole


RANDOM WRITING TIP

Stay grounded in detail. When you write, allow as much detail as possible into your poem. You can always cut back later. Try to build a poem in which the details do all the work.


RANDOM READING TIP

Use a website like amazon.com to find out what other readers buy who like a book of poetry you enjoyed. Simply enter the name of the book, select it from the list of possible matches, then scroll down to the section “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought” and see if there’s anything new there that strikes your fancy.


RANDOM COLLABORATING TIP

Do one of the random writing tips listed above and invite a writing partner or partners to write a poem based on the same tip. Then share what you each wrote. What's similar and different about the way you each approached the assignment?

SUBSCRIBE

Read Write Poem RSS Feeds