Poetry Portal: Ekphrastic Writings in Response to the Image Archive

In the spirit of ekphrastic poetry, ARAS quarterly commissions one poem that explores the many sides of an archetypal image. "Ekphrasis" or "ecphrasis"—from the Greek ek and phrasis, meaning 'out' and 'speak' respectively—referred in ancient times to a poetic description of a thing, person, or experience. In his Ars Poetica (13 BC) the Roman poet Horace wrote his dictum "ut pictura poesis" (as is painting, so is poetry). It is in celebration of the great union between these two forms of meaning-making that we host the Poetry Portal. The poems first appear in our newsletter ARAS Connections and then are given a permanent home here.

SEED

ASHES

MIRROR

TOWER

Here are our past collections of poetry from the Portal and Ekphrazein events.