Over the weekend I became aware of the Poetry Center of Chicago's call for submissions "Poets Look at Paintings" so I thought I'd share that info with you. What is sought are ekphrastic poems -- deadline is September 21. If your work is chosen you will be expected to read on November 18 when the Poetry Center will host a reading event. In 1974 "Poets Look at Paintings" was the Poetry Center's first-ever live event. The event this fall will revive the original concept: … [Read more...]
Glimpse of Solace: Kevin Nance, St. James Cathedral
Not my will but thine © Kevin Nance, 2014 Kevin Nance is a Chicago-based art photographer, photojournalist and freelance writer. His work appears in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago-Sun-Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Poets & Writers Magazine and other publications. You can follow him on Twitter at @kevinnance1 or visit his photo blog at kevinnance.tumblr.com. You can see an … [Read more...]
Excellence in art
This quotation appears on The Franklin Building at 720 S. Dearborn. Built in 1916 and designed by architect George C. Nimmons, The Franklin Building features picture tiles by Oskar Gross. This quotation appears above the terra-cotta doorway and under a mural of men working at the Gutenberg Press. … [Read more...]
Can Poetry Matter?
As I have said in earlier blogs, I always knew I wanted to be a writer. (And I feel fortunate that my path seemed so clear for me.) One article that helped me to think about being a writer, a poet in particular, was Dana Gioa’s “Can Poetry Matter?” which first ran way back in May 1991 in The Atlantic Monthly. The essays begins: "American Poetry now belongs to a subculture. No longer part of the mainstream of artistic and intellectual life, it has become the specialized … [Read more...]