Tongues Shaped Like Harps: Experimenting with Poetry and Visual Art

June 6, 13, 20, 27, 2023
12:00–1:30 p.m. EDT

“Pray in the tongues / that are shaped like harps”

—From “Versöhnung” (Reconciliation), by Else Lasker-Schüler

Poetry and visual art have a long history of inspiring each other. The German-Jewish poet Else Lasker-Schüler, quoted above, was influenced by Franz Marc and other Expressionist painters, and her work, in turn, influenced other artists. In this immersion, we’ll look at connections between a variety of Jewish poets and artists, like Marc Chagall and Alexander Mazin, and John O’Hara and Mike Goldberg. We’ll also look at creatives who work across different media, like Jean Arp, Tristan Tzara, Marcia Falk, and Maya Pindyck. These works will inspire our own experiments in writing ekphrastic poetry (poetry that responds to other art forms). We will also deepen our writing through simple exercises in drawing, watercolor painting, and collage. By playing with different media, we will see how writing and art can open up new avenues of creativity in conversation with each other. All are welcome, regardless of experience in writing poetry or artmaking.

Cathleen Cohen was the 2019 Poet Laureate of Montgomery County, PA. A painter and teacher, she founded the We the Poets program at ArtWell, an arts education non-profit in Philadelphia. Her poems appear in journals such as Apiary, Baltimore Review, Cagibi, East Coast Ink, 6ix, North of Oxford, One Art, Passager, Philadelphia Stories, Rockvale Review and Rogue Agent. Camera Obscura (chapbook, Moonstone Press), appeared in 2017 and Etching the Ghost (Atmosphere Press) in 2021. She received the Interfaith Relations Award from the Montgomery County PA Human Rights Commission and the Public Service Award from National Association of Poetry Therapy. Her paintings are on view at Cerulean Arts Gallery (ceruleanarts.com).

All sessions will be recorded and sent to participants. We encourage live attendance for you to get the most out of the experience.