Join Janisse Ray at the Georgia Museum of Art to write an ekphrastic poem. These are poems that explore a work of visual art, diving more deeply into its themes. The exhibition “Kristin Leachman: Longleaf Lines” will inspire us to write. No experience as a poet or writer is needed. Ray will talk about this poetic form, read a few ekphrastic poems and give us a quick lesson on how to approach the art so that it speaks to us. Then she’ll turn us loose to listen (and report on paper) what a painting says to us. We will reconvene to discuss the process. Space is limited and registration is required; email gmoa-tours@uga.edu to reserve a spot.

Ray is a writer exploring the intersection of landscape and story. Her first book, “Ecology of a Cracker Childhood,” a memoir about growing up on a junkyard, chronicled the disappearing longleaf pine ecosystem of the southeastern U.S. It won many awards and was named a New York Times Notable Book and a Book All Georgians Should Read. Janisse went on to publish many books of literary nonfiction and two collections of poetry. In 2021 Trinity University Press published her collection of essays, “Wild Spectacle: Seeking Wonder in a World Beyond Humans.” This fall she releases her first novel, “The Woods of Fannin County.” Janisse has won a Pushcart Prize, an American Book Award and a Southern Environmental Law Center Writing Award, among many others, and has been inducted into the Georgia Writers Hall of Fame. She lives and works on an organic farm in the coastal plains.