Reflections: Paintings & Poems From A Poet'S Gallery

PREFACE This will be the third collection of Elisavietta Ritchie's work we have been privileged to publish, and what a remarkable collection it is. Rich imagination and a talent for metaphor are the hallmarks of her work. Here we see a poet writing at the top of her game, and game is the precise word for the often whimsical accounts she gives of the paintings she meditates on.One thinks of Keats' critical touchstone, the concept of negative capability he proposes, the sensitivity and imaginative power an artist has to intuit even the very center of cue ball, the ability of the individual to perceive, think, and operate outside the box. Poets often employ this symbiotic relationship with the visual arts, a literary device known as ekphrasis used to convey the deeper symbolism of the corporeal art form by means of a separate medium such as poetry. The poet contemplates a work of art and responds with a lifetime of experience and curiosity to imagine the world found in a given painting. Here are poems written in the voices of the artist, his wife (who might also be an artist), his mistress, his models, his viewers, his dog--One thinks of the recent popular film in which all the characters in the paintings found in a museum step out of their frames and celebrate their liberation once the museum doors have closed for the night. It seems a happy collaboration of poet and artist enhancing our understanding of a painting, as well as taking joy in the work from a verbal perspective. "How do I know what I think until I see what I say," I believe WH Auden once quipped.I think of a William Meredith poem from HAZARD THE PAINTER which tells the story of a 8-year-old Erica, a "factory of will," who when she returns from dancing class, "she dances!" Long may the dance continue for Lisa Ritchie and all her devoted followers who love how poetry can buoy the human spirit in the hands of such a fierce intelligence and curiosity. Richard Harteis

• | Author: Elisavietta Ritchie
• | Publisher: Poets Choice Publishing
• | Publication Date: Nov 21, 2016
• | Number of Pages: 168 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback/Poetry
• | ISBN-10: 0997262915
• | ISBN-13: 9780997262919