• read and analyze poems inspired by art.
• discuss the methods poets use to write about artwork.
• use Internet searching techniques to find several inspiring art pieces.
• compose poems inspired by the artwork of their choosing.

• “Vincent” lyrics
• Packet of Ekphrastic Poems
• Perspectives in Writing Ekphrastic Poetry
• Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Checklist
• Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Rubric
• Prewriting Chart
• A variety of Web sites with images of artwork
• ReadWriteThink Printing Press
• Acrostic Poems (optional)
• Line Break Explorer (optional)
• Diamante Poems (optional)
• Paint Me a Poem: Poems Inspired by Masterpieces of Art by Justine Rowden (Boyds Mills, 2005) (optional)
• Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art, edited by Jan Greenberg (Abrams, 2001) (optional)

• Make copies of Perspectives in Writing Ekphrastic Poetry handout, Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Checklist, Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Rubric, and Prewriting Chart.
• Preview and select several ekphrastic poems (including the lyrics to “Vincent”) to use for discussion. As you choose poems for this lesson, look for a variety of perspectives from which the poems are written. Also note the types of poetic devices being used (e.g., sound devices such as alliteration, metaphors or similes, rhyme, imagery, etc). For a ready collection of poems, use the Academy of American Poets’ Ecphrasis: Poetry Confronting Art, which includes a list of poems in the left sidebar, or poems from The Poet Speaks of Art from Emory University. Once the poems are chosen, assemble the collection in a packet and make copies to share with students.
• Depending on your students’ familiarity with reading and writing poetry, you may wish to create a handout that defines the poetic devices you plan to use. Refer to the Web Resources section later in this lesson for a dictionary of literary terms.
• If not using an LCD projector, prepare overhead transparencies of artwork and accompanying poetry.
• Test the ReadWriteThink Printing Press, Acrostic Poems, Line Break Explorer, and Diamante Poems to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

1. Hand out copies of “Vincent” lyrics by Don McLean and additional poems from the prepared packet.
2. Play the song while students follow along with the lyrics.
3. Ask students to reflect on the song in their writing journals, answering the questions, “Who do you think Vincent was?” and “What do we learn about Vincent from the song?”
4. Discuss students’ journal responses. As the discussion develops, students will point out references to painting and art, and some students may realize the song is written about Vincent Van Gogh.
5. Display an overhead or LCD reproduction of Van Gogh’s Starry Night. (The song also references other Van Gogh paintings—Sunflowers, Wheat Field with Crows, Self-Portrait—which you may choose to show students as well.)
6. Continue discussing the song, noting how McLean uses Van Gogh’s artwork as his inspiration.
7. Point out the songwriter’s perspective in writing this piece is to directly address the artist.
8. Ask students to re-read the lyrics in their packet, this time noting poetic devices they find. Students may mark the text (underlining, starring, note-taking, etc.) as they re-read.
9. Students then share their findings with the class, noting examples of devices such as rhyme, alliteration, repetition, etc.
10. Encourage them to add to their notes during the discussion. Point out literary devices students may have missed (tone, for example).

1. Introduce the term ekphrasis and define its meaning—“writing inspired by art.”
2. Take a few minutes to have students explain how “Vincent” is like an ekphrastic poem and therefore offers a good preview of their own analysis of ekphrastic poetry.
3. Mention that students will have the chance to write ekphrastic poems of their own after analyzing several as a class.
4. Share several ekphrastic poems and accompanying artwork on the overhead or LCD projector as students follow along in their packets.
5. Refer to the Web Resources listed later in this lesson for examples. Alternatively, read aloud from Paint Me a Poem: Poems Inspired by Masterpieces of Art, by Justine Rowden, (Boyds Mills, 2005) or Heart to Heart: New Poems Inspired by Twentieth-Century American Art, edited by Jan Greenberg (Abrams, 2001).
6. As you read each poem, have students mark the text for poetic devices (or take notes as you read) as they did in response to “Vincent.”
7. Lead a discussion of each poem, noting the various perspectives poets take towards the artwork as well as the poetic devices they use (e.g., sound devices such as alliteration, metaphors or similes, rhyme, imagery, etc).

1. Introduce and discuss the ekphrastic poetry booklet, and distribute the Perspectives in Writing Ekphrastic Poetry handout, the Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Checklist, and the Prewriting Chart.
2. Display an overhead transparency of the Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Rubric (or pass out copies for students to use), and explain the connections between the checklist and the rubric.
3. Have students use the Web sites listed in the Web Resources section to search for artwork they find intriguing.
4. As students select artwork, they should complete the Prewriting Chart.

1. Allow students time to draft a series of poems about the pieces of artwork they have chosen.
   
   • Students should refer to the Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Checklist and Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Rubric as they compose.
   • Remind students to refer to their Prewriting Charts to select a perspective for each poem.
   • Encourage students to use the poems from the packet as models for their own poetry.
   • Students may choose to write their poems freeform or based on a specific poetic form. Depending on students’ comfort level with poetry, teachers may opt to use the Diamante Poems, Acrostic Poems and Line Break Explorer tools to structure students’ poem.
   • To provide more models and forms for students, share Poetic Forms & Techniques from the Academy of American Poets.
   
   
2. As the class works, circulate through the room and briefly conference with students as they complete their first poems. Make sure that students’ first poems reflect an understanding of the assignment before they complete the remainder of the series.
3. Students may wish to conference individually with the teacher or ask their peers for feedback as they write and revise the remainder of their series.

1. Students should finish final revisions and editing of their poems.
2. Lead students through the tutorial included in the ReadWriteThink Printing Press.
3. Allow students time to assemble their poems into booklets, using the ReadWriteThink Printing Press.
4. Teachers may wish to add sessions for peer response, revision, and sharing of the finished poetry booklets.

The Poet Speaks of Art
http://www.english.emory.edu/classes/paintings&poems/titlepage.html

This Emory University site features a collection of poems and the art that inspired them.

Ecphrasis: Poetry Confronting Art
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/5918

This useful American Academy of Poets page explains ekphrasis and provides links to poetry inspired by art.

Streamed Don McLean Music
http://www.don-mclean.com/downloads/index.asp

Listen to an audio recording of Don McLean’s “Vincent” on this Web site, which features several free downloads of the song.

Dictionary of Literary Terms
http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/resources/Literary.Terms.Menu.html

The Dictionary of Literary Terms provides brief definitions and examples of poetic devices.

The Art Institute of Chicago
http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/index.php

This site contains images from the Institute’s collection, organized geographically and by type.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art
http://www.metmuseum.org/

Images of many of the artworks found at the Met are presented on the Museum’s official Web site.

The Louvre
http://www.louvre.fr/llv/oeuvres/alaune.jsp?bmLocale=en

Some of the Louvre’s 35,000 works of art are displayed on this site.

American Masters Database of Visual Artists
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/database_visual_arts.html

PBS provides information and images related to 25 visual artists.

• For formal assessment, use the Ekphrastic Poetry Booklet Rubric.
  
  
• Teachers who wish to assess the project as a portfolio can also wish to collect students’ Prewriting Charts and rough drafts of poems.
  
  

NCTE/IRA Standards

1 - Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.

3 - Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).

4 - Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

5 - Students employ a wide range of strategies as they write and use different writing process elements appropriately to communicate with different audiences for a variety of purposes.

6 - Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.