Writing From Art With Star Black

Explore the possibilities of creative writing and develop new connections between visual art and the written word with published poet and scholar Star Black in a three-session literary workshop at The Church.

“Writing from Art: Poetry, Prose, and the Lyric Essay” will meet Thursdays, April 6, 13 and 20 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will focus on the idea of Ekphrasis, an ancient Greek term meaning “the use of detailed description of a work of visual art as a literary device.”

Inspired by the works featured in “Return to a Place by the Sea,” the current exhibition at The Church, participants will generate a series of creative texts detailing their unique experiences of selected works in the exhibition. Poets, writers and anyone fascinated by the interweaving of art and literature is welcome to attend, no prior writing experience is needed.

“Writing from art invites you to look closely at a work of art that you are drawn to and create your own work out of that experience,” said Black. “Much like sketching in front of a painting at The Met, the painting remains there but the sketch is yours.”

Each session will begin in the library at The Church. During the first session, participants will be guided through an exclusive tour of “Return to a Place by the Sea,” led by April Gornik, co-founder of The Church and co-curator of the exhibition. All three sessions will conclude with a group reading of written texts, sharing thoughts and ideas.

Due to the intimate nature of this workshop, the total capacity will be limited to 12 participants. A notebook and pen or pencil are the only required materials for this workshop.

Star Black is a poet, photographer and visual artist. After arriving in New York City in 1977 as a photographer for United Press International, she went freelance in 1980, photographing for The New York Times, the Museum of Modern Art and other clients while studying poetry at Brooklyn College with John Ashbery and earning an MFA degree in 1984. She is the author of seven books of poems, the most recent being “The Popular Vote” that addresses the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election. Her collages and artist books have been exhibited at Poets House and the Center for Book Arts. She co-founded the KGB Bar Monday Night Poetry Series in the East Village in 1997, which continues today, and has taught poetry at The New School and Stony Brook University.

“Return to A Place By the Sea” revisits and recontextualizes the 1999 exhibition “A Place by the Sea” that celebrated the work and friendship of “The Eastville Four,” four African American artists with a Sag Harbor connection: Nanette Carter (b. 1954), Gregory Coates (b. 1961), Al Loving (1935-2005), and Frank Wimberley (b. 1926). Initially organized in 1999 by Jim Richard Wilson at the Rathbone Gallery of the Russell Sage College in Albany, the show traveled to Christine Nienaber Contemporary Art in New York and the Arlene Bujese Gallery in East Hampton.

The Church is at 48 Madison Street, Sag Harbor. Tickets for “Writing from Art” are $30 and include all three sessions. Visit thechurchsagharbor.org for details.