Ekphrastic Exaltation
Ten days (and more) of writing/poetic inspiration
I am in the midst of one of my favorite times of the year and this year (due to my retirement) I am able to immerse myself in the experience more than ever before. If you know me in real life then you already know that I’m writing about Lexington Poetry Month (LexPoMo for the initiated). LexPoMo’s mission is simple. Gather together a community of poets with ties (however ephemeral) to Lexington/Kentucky to share a poem each day (a challenge not a requirement) and to celebrate/encourage your fellow poets as much as you are able.
As a LexPoMo participant with more than a decade of poetic exultation (as in filled with or expressing great joy or triumph) I love the challenge to craft poems to share (I have never achieved 30 - in fact most often ranging in the teens). However, as someone who values writing in community I love connecting with writers who inspire and challenge and interest me. It is a delight to step into the LexPoMo firehose of poetry to encounter old friends, re-connect with past comrades in poetry, and make new friends. Best of all there is something about this great smorgasbord of poetry that is deliciously inspirational.
In recent years I have developed the habit of posting a quick recap of my LexPoMo encounters including my addition to the collection of poetry and some of the highlights of my dips into the white water rapids. Find them all here. But I thought it might be useful (for me and others) to share my ekphrastic exaltation in collections of 10. I know that one of the ways that LexPoMo inspires me is that I find my writing in conversation with other writers and it is interesting to see how this interplay of ideas takes writers in unexpected directions. I am a huge fan of ekphrasis ( drawing inspiration from a work of “art” created by another). It is, in fact, one of the most common writing invitations I share with my writing students and writing group. I love sharing a poem or an excerpt of a poem and inviting writers to lift a line, an image, or idea to begin writing so that is your simple invitation to write:
June 1: I was inspired by seven poems (and added my own so that is 8 poems to inspire you!) The image/idea that inspired me the most on this inaugural day was setting sail (by sea or by air) and in my own journal I lifted the line “Don’t be stingy with…”
June 2: I was inspired by six poems (and with mine that makes 7). The idea that inspired me this day was all about memory and how we measure, map, or record the memories that make us who we are. What do you want to take from the world? What do you want the world to take from you?
June 3: I was inspired by nine poems (with mine that makes 10). I was truly inspired by these poems exploring such weighty ideas as life, love, and humanity but my writing group was really drawn to an exploration of junk drawers in specific and whatever is junking up our lives in (not necessarily physical objects). I know I was drawn to write about the detritus on my desk and in my office (tote bags full of random objects I chose to bring home from my former office).
June 4: Smallest collection of poems yet (just 6) but the invitation is profound: to write about the blessings of your life or that you wish for others. My pro tip (learned after my long struggle to write the poem I shared on this day) is to focus on the mundane and tangible and not the abstract and lofty.
June 5: Seven tasty treats that focus on nature and place. What is the most dangerous season? What is the most blessed or sacred place?
June 6: Six poems all exploring (in varied and interesting ways) life lessons we need to learn, have learned, or wish to impart.
June 7: Six poems and the invitation to write about what you love, how you love, and where you find light.
June 8: Six poems and the simple invitation to write what is weighing on your heart and mind.
June 9: Seven poems with the invitation to write about the memories, places, and actions that are balm on your wounds.
June 10: Six poems with the invitation to write about your wants, dreams, and sacred work.
I labeled this collection of writing invitations ekphrastic exaltation because I know how powerful ekphrasis can be for writers. When considering my alliterative options I did consider exultation (as in filled with or expressing great joy or triumph) but ultimately landed on exaltation because I love the idea of “an excessively intensified sense of well-being, power, or importance” (according to Merriam-Webster). When I am in the zone as a writer I feel all three (well-being, power, and importance) and I love when I can inspire and/or witness that feeling in other writers almost as much as I love experiencing it for myself. I hope these poetic writing invitations will help you feel an excessively intense sense of well-being, power, and importance too! And I hope that you find my collage collected from the featured image for each day inspiring as well.
I hope you will subscribe so you don’t miss any future writing invitations (two more batches to come)! You should also check out my Reading the USA journey for celebrating America’s 250 and visit Deanna’s Third Act/Space for all the ways I am reading, watching, and writing in community. I can’t wait to discover where you take these invitations to write. Please let me know: