Monday Muse Mixes Poetry & Art

Today, Monday Muse spotlights a trio of poetry-and-art-related events.

✦ The wonderful Poets House in New York City has borrowed from Emory University's Manuscripts, Archives, and Rare Book Library a selection of poems, drafts, manuscripts, letters, photographs, and ephemera in the archives of the marvelous Lucille Clifton (1936-2010). These loaned materials, part of MARBL's Raymond Danowski Poetry Library (see my post of September 2, 2013), are on view through March 14 in "'come celebrate with me': The Work of Lucille Clifton". Poet Kevin Young, co-editor of The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton: 1965-2010 (BOA Editions, 2012), curated the exhibition, which includes Clifton's first and last poems. 

Lucille Clifton Obituary, The New York Times

Poets House, a national archive of some 50,000 volumes of poetry, is free and open to the public Tuesday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m., and Saturday, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. In addition to exhibitions, Poets House holds readings by and conversations with poets; offers workshops, classes, and residencies; and sponsors an annual Showcase and Poetry Walk. Children are welcome (let them enjoy the Children's Room when you visit).

Also on view at the same time: "A Compendium of Creatures", featuring artist Darren Waterston's and poet Mark Doty's collaborative portfolio A Swarm, A Flock, A Host: A Compendium of Creatures.

Poets House on FaceBook, Twitter, and YouTube

Literary Tours: Poets House New York City at TweetSpeakPoetry

✦ After a stop at Poets House, head to Washington, D.C.'s National Gallery of Art to view "From the Library: The Transformation of Ovid's Metamorphoses", continuing through February 9. It's a fascinating look at uses of the text and the images derived from it. For a great resource, go online: Ovid's masterpiece may be read in Latin texts and translations at The Ovid Collection at the University of Virginia Electronic Text Center. Also in the collection is a selection of pictorial and textual responses to the work; see Ovid Illustrated: The Reception of Ovid's Metamorphoses in Image and Text. 

✦ A great find! Go online to the Clyde Holmes Website. Holmes, born in London in 1940, was both a poet (he published four collections) and a visual artist; he attributed his production of poems and paintings (gorgeous skyscapes, land and light, and "watermarks" projects) to "walking around in the landscape". Read his lovely nature poetry and browse images of his art to inspire your day. A number of videos can be viewed on the Website.

[His] poems need to be read slowly and meditated upon. There is

 silence here (as in his paintings) — the reward of observation that

 comes only from familiarity . . . they are authentic . . . the reward

 of many years of work, commitment and close communion

 with the landscape he reveals so vividly.

~ Art Critic Michael Hamburger

The Website introduction to Holmes, who died in 2008 at age 67, might make you want to see his work in person. If so, head abroad to the Moma Wales, where an exhibition of Holmes's studio works will be presented through March (the show opened January 11). Work by Holmes is in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum and the National Library of Wales, among others.