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“Ekphrastic art” is defined as the response of an artist in one medium to a work of art by an artist in another medium. Its more common manifestation is in poetry written about visual art, e.g., paintings, photographs, drawings, sculpture. Poetic License is a project that turns that around, giving local visual artists an opportunity to respond to the work of poets.
For the fourth year now, inspired by a project created by the Poetry Barn in West Hurley, NY & the Arts Society of Kingston (ASK), the Hudson Valley Writers Guild & the Upstate Artists Guild created our own version of this project called Poetic License.
In 2022, 113 individual poems were submitted by 62 poets; ultimately, 18 works of visual art were exhibited at the Art Associates Gallery & at Lark Hall in Albany, with 3 readings held in conjunction with the exhibits.
In 2023 the show exhibited in November at the Fish Market Project in Troy AND in December at the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany. 42 individual poems, submitted by 38 poets; 21 poems were selected by 19 artists; who ultimately, made 31 works of visual art.
In 2024, 24 poems were selected by 26 Artists who made 42 works of visual art!
Inspired by the success of the last three years, the Hudson Valley Writers Guild & the Upstate Artists Guild are excited to work together again in 2025 for collaboration between poets and visual artists in the Capital District. Poetic License will be displayed at the Fish Market Project for September 2025, then in October- Mid November at the Honest Weight Food Co-op in Albany.
CALL FOR POEM ENTRIES
Poetic License - 2025
What We Are Looking For
We are looking for poems (or an excerpt from a longer poem) that are image-driven, that
present a narrative or a written description containing images that arise from our senses, or as
poet William Carlos Williams famously said, “No idea but in things.” The images can come
from the “real world,” or the world of fantasy, from dreams, be in color or in black & white,
but the writing should be such that makes the reader see, hear, smell, taste, feel, etc. what the
poet experienced. Please note we are not looking for ekphrastic poems.
If selected by a visual artist, your poem will be displayed along with the artwork it inspires at
an exhibit in the Fall at a venue(s) to be determined. The number of poems selected will be
based upon the size of the venue and what it will be able to fit in, & not all work selected by
the editors may be selected by an artist. See the Guidelines below, which will also be posted on
the website of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild www.hvwg.org and on
poeticlicensealbany.com
Guidelines
• Poems must be no longer than 150 words, and no more than 25 lines long.
• Poems will be considered whether they are previously published or unpublished work.
• Send up to two (2) poems in the body of an email titled “2025 Poetic License”
• Include your name, address, email address, and phone number in your email — no bio.
• Send your email to dwl...@gmail.com by midnight, EST, on May 31, 2025.
• Judges will be local poets & members of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild.
• Please note: Your poem may be accepted by the editors but not selected by one of the
artists.
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Once the poems are selected, and the poems are available for artists to choose from, we will send another email around 6/15/2025. More details on the CALL FOR ART, can be found here: https://upstateartistsguild.org/
Please share this info with anyone you think may be interested.
Direct questions to: in...@upstateartistsguild.org
We hope to see you soon!
Do you have a show opportunity or class/workshop you are hosting that we could help spread the word about? Email in...@upstateartistsguild.org with the information or Call for Art or class schedule and we can help!
The UAG is open to all and was established to promote the appreciation, practice, and enjoyment of art; art education and artistic endeavors throughout the community; and to work with the community to stimulate an interest in the arts.
It also works to support emerging artists, by providing them the opportunity to exhibit their work in a gallery. The UAG is a not-for-profit volunteer organization.
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