An introduction to Photopoetry
There are many similarities between poetry and photographs. Both tend to be compressed versions of reality, carefully observed, often lyrical and not as transparent as they might first seem.
To begin, we must ask ourselves what these mediums actually are, at heart, and then what they can be together? Finally, what is the purpose of their combination? What can they do together? And why is it relatively rare to see a cohesive combination of the two - with fidelity to poetry that isn’t just text, or discourse, or opinion, and photography that isn’t just pictorial?
-- S. J. Fowler
Robert Crawford and Norman McBeath have published a 'Photopoetry Manifesto' which identifies aspects of their shared practice but also offers advice for other photopoetry collaborators:
- Poems and photographs encourage each other’s obliquity.
- Photopoetry is more interesting and engaging when the photograph is not a literal illustration of the poem; likewise, if the poem is not a literal description of the photograph.
- Both poem and photograph should be able to stand alone in their own right.
- The pairing of poem and photograph should bring more depth, so each gains something from the collocation.
- Unless the poet has taken the photographs or the photographer has written the poem, the pairing of photograph and poem will involve a collaboration. Collaborations which work are like close human relationships: in a successful pairing of poem and photograph each will be independent yet interdependent.
- The pairing should be about revealing rather than explaining. This is the key to engaging the reader’s imagination.
- The pairing should allow for serendipity. This is partly to do with the process of choosing which pairings to make, and partly due to the power of the pairing to excite.
- Within a set of pairings there should be a range of connective strands: again like a relationship, where there are lots of different facets of attraction and at the same time a deep consistency.
- Photographs should stand free from any title other than the language of the poem.
- The dynamic between a long poem and a photograph is very different from that between a short poem and a photograph; the latter pairing works best in exhibitions.
- People always want to know where a photograph was taken, but in photo-poetry a level of imaginative engagement is lost as soon as they find out.
- A haiku comes closest to the shutter’s click.
Your challenge
Several poems have been selected as stimuli for photographs. You will be assigned one of the poems randomly. Your task is to create a sequence of photographs in response to your poem. You may respond in any way you feel is appropriate, ideally exploring a range of possibilities. You will ultimately select one or more of these photographs to place alongside the poem like a double page publication spread.
Here are some suggestions for how to approach this challenge:
Here are some suggestions for how to approach this challenge:
- Read your poem several times. Discuss it with a friend. Make some notes each time you read/discuss it.
- Take a look at the Photopoetry resource. How have other photographers collaborated with poets to create photopoetic publications? Make notes about those that you find interesting. Make sure you take a look at the physical objects as well as research online.
- Make a mind map of your responses with 3 or 4 ideas for potential photographs. For example, you might respond to:
- a particular detail in your poem
- how the poem makes you feel
- a short phrase
- the shape of your poem on the page
- the title ...etc.
- Your photograph does not need to illustrate the poem. Try to create an image that can be displayed alongside the poem and be interesting in its own right but which also echoes the poem in some way; "independent yet interdependent" as Crawford and McBeath suggest.
- Try making several different types of photographs - experiment with point of view, framing, focus, composition, subject matter and genre. The most obvious or 'best' (conventional) image may not be the one that works well with the poem. You may wish to print and adapt your photograph using collage, mixed media etc.
- Make sure to document the whole process of responding to this challenge, including your 'mistakes', false starts, dead ends and frustrations. Try to capture the decision-making process. Tell the story of how you arrived at your final solution using a combination of words and images.
- Present your final image(s) alongside the poem stimulus in the form of a book spread. You can use the relevant image file of your poem from the gallery below (to retain its correct layout). Decide whether your picture should be on the left or the right, what size and where positioned on the page. These decisions can have a real impact on the overall relationship between photograph and poem.
- Stand back and admire your handiwork.
Image files of the poems:
Your notes
Use whatever strategy suits you best for making notes about your poem. The following examples show handwritten annotations on a printed version of the poem and digital annotations made using a Google presentation:
Example final layouts
It's a good idea to have at least a couple of attempts at a final layout, so that you can compare their relative merits.
#1
#2
Final layout template link
IMPORTANT: Remember to go to File > Make a Copy before you edit this template to create your own version of the layout! Once you've designed your layout you can export the design as an image (jpeg) to put on your web page (like the example above).
The Poems:
Photopoetry Stimuli 2020 |