In a compelling interview excerpt with Kristina Marie Darling, poet Beth McDermott offers insightful perspectives on her craft, particularly as illuminated by her collection Figure 1. This discussion, rooted in the practice of ekphrasis—poetry in conversation with visual art—vividly illustrates how this excerpt suggests that poetry is to other art forms not a solitary pursuit, but a vibrant dialogue partner, interpreter, and innovator. McDermott’s reflections highlight poetry’s unique capacity to engage with, draw inspiration from, and reveal hidden dimensions within the broader landscape of artistic creation.
The foundation of McDermott’s approach, as described in the excerpt, lies in ekphrasis. She explains Figure 1 as “a collection of poems in conversation with art and the natural world,” rooted in the ekphrastic tradition. This immediately positions poetry as an art form capable of deep, analytical engagement with others. McDermott references Vermeer, Hockney, and Takigawa, demonstrating how specific visual works become springboards for poetic exploration. Her fascination with “framing: what happened outside of the frame, and what happened before or after what we think we know?” reveals poetry’s power to extend the narrative, challenge perceptions, and delve into the histories and unseen elements surrounding a fixed visual image. This suggests that poetry can act as a critical commentary and imaginative expansion upon other art forms.
Beyond direct engagement through ekphrasis, McDermott finds inspiration by interacting with the “discourses of other art forms.” Unable to “play an instrument very well or dance gracefully,” she discovers stimulation in discussions about documentary filmmaking, album covers, and musician interviews. This points to poetry’s porous boundaries; it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Drawing from concepts and language specific to other media (“Thinking about one word specific to another medium invites connections with other words and worlds”) enriches the poetic palette. It allows poets to see their own practice through a different lens, borrowing structures, rhythms, or conceptual frameworks from music, film, or dance. This exchange underscores poetry’s capacity for absorption and transformation, suggesting its ability to translate the essence of other artistic experiences into linguistic form. Explore a diverse collection of best poems to see how various poets engage with the world, perhaps even implicitly interacting with other arts.
Beth McDermott author photo
Author Beth McDermott, whose work explores poetry’s relationship with art and nature.
A particularly powerful insight from the excerpt concerns the role of silence and absence, especially within ekphrasis. McDermott notes the historical context of ekphrasis, where descriptions were needed for those without direct access to the art. This inherent “absence of a visual representation” aligns with a deeper thematic concern: “what isn’t present or may not be easily observed with the human eye.” By seeking out the “microscopic or hidden elements of an image,” poetry provides an account that complements or contrasts with the visual, adding layers of mystery or even unease. This suggests that poetry’s strength lies partly in its ability to articulate the unseen, the unspoken, or the inferred elements that lie beneath the surface of other, often more overtly presentational, art forms. Consider how even short poems that are funny can use what’s left unsaid for comedic effect, demonstrating poetry’s subtle power.
McDermott also touches on the value of ekphrasis and engaging with external subjects like art as a means to “move beyond the autobiographical.” While personal experience remains vital (sometimes surfacing unexpectedly, as in the example of her skin cancer making its way into “Mutation”), focusing on an artwork provides a framework through which to explore “emotional and philosophical truths” indirectly. This method allows poets to access universal themes by interpreting something outside of themselves, offering a different path to meaning-making than direct personal narrative. This indicates that poetry’s engagement with other arts can serve a therapeutic or analytical function for the poet, providing distance and perspective while still plumbing emotional depths. This is a nuanced approach to truth-telling, distinct from, say, purely confessional modes.
The discussion briefly touches upon formal considerations through McDermott’s interest in prose poetry. She notes its association with both “liberation and formal experimentation” and being perceived as a “box or block.” This duality reflects poetry’s ongoing negotiation with form, a fundamental element shared by all art forms (composition in music, choreography in dance, structure in visual art). Her personal reflection on wanting to both “contain [her] kids… and allow for their freedom” mirrors this artistic tension. Poetry, like other arts, grapples with how structure shapes and enables expression. Her role as an educator, emphasizing writing as “process-oriented and grounded in technique,” further reinforces the idea that poetry, like other disciplines, benefits from a conscious understanding and application of craft.
In conclusion, the excerpt from Beth McDermott’s interview with Kristina Marie Darling offers a rich portrayal of poetry’s dynamic relationship with other art forms. It suggests that poetry serves as an active interpreter and commentator through practices like ekphrasis, pushing beyond the visual frame. It functions as an absorptive medium, drawing inspiration from the discourses and structures of music, film, and other disciplines. Furthermore, it finds unique power in exploring absence and the unseen, offering distinct avenues for expressing truth and emotion, even moving beyond strict autobiography. Finally, it shares with other arts a fundamental concern with form and technique as essential components of creative expression. This excerpt confirms that poetry thrives not in isolation, but in conversation and collaboration with its artistic counterparts, enriching both itself and the broader cultural landscape. Whether exploring cool romantic poems or complex sonnets about love, examples of this interplay between form, feeling, and external reference points abound in the world of poem love.
An excerpt from Beth McDermott’s poetry collection Figure 1, which is in conversation with art and the natural world.
Reference:
Darling, Kristina Marie. “An Interview with Beth McDermott.” Tupelo Quarterly. Accessed [Date of access – Note: original article doesn’t provide this, so will omit or state as accessed via linked source]. Link: https://www.tupeloquarterly.com/an-interview-with-beth-mcdermott/