“Ekphrastic” was a new word to me when I first heard it, so in case you’re equally in the dark, here’s a definition, adapted from the esteemed etymologists of Wikipedia:
“…a graphic, often dramatic, description of a visual work of art… from the Greek ek and phrasis, ‘out’ and ‘speak’ respectively, verb ekphrazein, to proclaim or call an inanimate object by name.”
The enterprising folks at Keep St. Pete Lit adapted that concept for Fantastic Ekphrastic!, a Jan. 24 event at St. Pete’s Soft Water Studio marrying artists, writers and actors. It also struck us as a good description of CL’s Spring Arts Preview — a fantastic ekphrastic mix of theater, music, comedy, performance, visual art, dance, film and more. Our curated season preview is presented in calendar format, a handy guide to this season's must-sees as chosen by A&E Editor Julie Garisto, Megan Voeller, Mark E. Leib and Leilani Polk.
And there’s another way CL is getting into an ekphrastic frame of mind: Our annual Fiction Contest asks you to do what Keep St. Pete Lit’s authors have done: Write a story inspired by a work of visual art. Find out more at cltampa.com/fictioncontest. And stay tuned for the 2015 edition of CL’s own multi-disciplinary extravaganza, GASP!, at the Tampa Museum of Art Mar. 27.
—David Warner
