Putting yourself into the picture. Ekphrastic writing. One particular kind of visual description is also the oldest type of writing about art in the West. Called ekphrasis, it was created by the Greeks. The goal of this literary form is to make the reader envision the thing described as if it were physically present. In many cases, however, the subject never actually existed, making the ekphrastic description a demonstration of both the creative imagination and the skill of the writer.YOUR ASSIGNMENT: Everyone needs a picture of him or herself that is at least five-years old.
Using yesterday's essay by Donald Murray as a general model, look at your photo. Take time to study facial expression, the body postion and gestures. What is the context? Project yourself back to that moment. Where were in your life? What were your expectations- for the moment for the long run? Maybe your long run was only a month away. Compare this to where you are now. This is not a goal oriented essay, as in what would I like to be when I grow up. Ask yourself honestly, who you were then? To make it interesting, use vivid imagery and other figurative language devices such as metaphors or similes. Make the reader connect with this photo, much as Murray did. Careful with the tone. Murray offers no regrets, rather he creates a world into which the reader may step. This should be about 400 words.
When you have finished, create a caption. Submit it by mail, inserting your photo at the top. THE COMPLETED ESSAY IS DUE AT THE END OF CLASS MONDAY. (Last grade for this marking period)
Suggestion: some folks could not scan their picture, so they took a picture of it with their phone and then sent it to themselves.
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