Group of students taking a writing class in the Creative Hub

Writing About Art: Ekphrastic Poetry

Registration and Pricing

Registration

Registration opens at 10 am MST on the following dates:

  • Monday, May 15: Museum Friends
  • Wednesday, May 17: All members
  • Friday, May 19: Open to everyone

Please be aware space is limited and advance registration is required.

Pricing Information

For 6-week and 4-week classes, students will purchase their own materials. No Studio Fee.

For 1-day workshops, all materials provided with an additional Studio Fee of $30–$90.

Class DurationMuseum FriendsMembersStudentsNonmembers
6-week class$195$205$205$240
4-week class$130$135$135$160
1-day workshop$65$70$70$80

Class Details

Location

Creative Classes are held in the DAM’s state-of-the-art classrooms, located inside the Bartlit Learning and Engagement Center on level 1 of the Martin Building.

Class Cancellation Policy

If a class or workshop needs to be cancelled due to inclement weather or teacher illness, a “make-up” day will be scheduled on a Friday or Saturday as the educator’s schedule allows.

What to Expect

This class meets weekly on Tuesdays from September 5 to 26, from 6 to 8 pm. Each week, students should come to class having read the readings, which may include poems as well as poetics (that is, prose theory about poetry). We’ll spend the beginning of class discussing the readings, and then we’ll open up the class to explore the museum and write or to have individual conferences with me about your writing. The final week of the course will consist of a workshop in which students will share a selection of their work with the group and receive feedback.

Timeline

  • Week 1: Introduction to Ekphrasis and visit to the galleries.
    • Readings (to be completed before class): Poetics on ekphrasis ft. Lessing, He􀋞ernan, Mitchell, & Vendler. Poems: Keats, “Ode on a Grecian Urn”; Williams, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus”; Auden, “Musee des Beaux Arts”; Moore, “No Swan So Fine”; Bishop, “Brazil, January 1, 1502”; Fairchild, “All the People in Hopper’s Paintings."
  • Week 2: Indigenous Voices, The West, & Abstract Expressionism. Gallery visit to levels 3 and 7 of the Martin Building.
    • Readings (to be completed before class): Poetics: Lehman, The Last Avante Garde: excerpts from intro, ch. 1, ch.7; Breslin, From Modern to Contemporary: excerpt on O’Hara; O’Hara,“Personism”; Lee, “Poetry as Gaze Equalizer” Poems: Harjo, “All the Tired Horses in the Sun”; Diaz, “exhibits from The American Water Museum”; Graham, “For Mark Rothko,” “Pollock and Canvas”; O’Hara, “On Seeing Larry Rivers’ Washington Crossing the Delaware at the Museum of Modern Art,” “Why I Am Not a Painter”; Guest,“The Poetess.”
  • Week 3: Japan & Writing Like a Painter. Gallery visit to level 5 of the Martin Building. End-class activity of making tanzaku.
    • Readings (to be completed before class): Poetics: Ueda excerpts on Buson and Seisensui; Rengetsu biographical headnote; Tanabata historical note poems: Selections of haiku and tanka.
  • Week 4: Workshop. No readings before class—instead, bring one or two of your poems from the month to class, and please print out enough copies for everyone.
    • Activity: Workshop—each student will get around 15 minutes to receive feedback on their work from the group. You may choose which workshop model you’d like for your turn. (We will discuss different models.)

Materials:

Students will purchase their own materials and should expect to spend $0-20. A materials list will be provided to all students at least 4 weeks prior to the start of this class.

About the Educator

T. Dallas Saylor (he/they) is a PhD candidate in poetry at Florida State University, and he holds a master's of fine arts from the University of Houston. His work meditates on the body, especially gender and sexuality, against physical, spiritual, and digital landscapes. His poetry has been featured in Prairie Schooner, Poetry Northwest, Colorado Review, Christianity & Literature, PRISM international, and elsewhere. He currently lives in Denver, CO. Follow him on Twitter at @dallas_saylor.

Creative Classes at the DAM

Creative Classes offer an opportunity to learn from local professional creatives in a studio art environment. Each class is uniquely designed by a creative educator for an adult audience, with specific connections to Denver Art Museum exhibitions and collections. Connect with professional creatives, learn a new skill, and expand your own creative practice.

Choose a 1-day workshop to try out a new technique or a 4-week or 6-week class for greater in-depth exploration. No prior is experience necessary. Explore the full class catalog today.