English 102

Dear Students,

I have created this blog so that you can have easy access to your Ekphrasis Exercises. Remember, the definition of Ekphrasis is as follows:

Ekphrasis or ecphrasis is the graphic, often dramatic, description of a visual
work of art. In ancient times it referred to a description of any thing, person,
or experience. The word comes from the Greek ek and phrasis, 'out' and 'speak'
respectively, verb ekphrazein, to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name.
Ekphrasis has been considered generally to be a rhetorical device in which one
medium of art tries to relate to another medium by defining and describing its
essence and form, and in doing so, relate more directly to the audience, through
its illuminative liveliness. A descriptive work of prose or poetry, a film, or
even a photograph may thus highlight through its rhetorical vividness what is
happening, or what is shown in, say, any of the visual arts, and in doing so,
may enhance the original art and so take on a life of its own through its
brilliant description" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ekphrasis).

This semester, I will ask that you look upon one of these photographs and simply "tell me what you see." The goal of the exercise is to write continuously and create as you go, without lifting your pen from the page.

Various perspectives and themes, as well as the diverse forms (poems, plays, movie scripts, dialogue in the vernacular, etc.) can flow from your fast-moving pens and minds!

As you revise these works for the final portfolio, I will ask that you copy/paste each photograph to the top of a blank document. Beneath the image, start typing your work. (Please use Times New Roman, 12 point font, and I would like it single-spaced so that as much of your prose as possible is on the same page as the photo, though it is likely that you take more than one page for some or many entries).

Your work should be edited for clarity of expression. If you would like to change the direction of your original response, you are welcome to do so. As long as the response reflects originality and effort, it will be a success!

Best of luck! Write with confidence and authority!