Ekphrasis is the use of poetic language to respond to a work of visual art. In this workshop, participants will explore the work of local artist Elise Cashman Bond and, under the guidance of poet Sylvia Baer, construct poems, songs, memoirs, and stories.
Sylvia Baer is a teacher, poet, storyteller, and translator who was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and has lived in many countries and speaks several languages. She has been teaching English Literature for over 50 years, has created creative writing programs and publications, and served as the founding editor of several national academic journals. She has written and performed a one-woman play, "A Passion for Life" where she embodies the poet Emily Dickinson.
She is a graduate of Northfield School (now NMH), Washington College (BA and MA) and The University of Maryland (PhD), an Associate Fellow of Yale University (Davenport), and was named the first Poet Laureate of Cape May, NJ, where you can visit her Poet-Tree and her free-to-the-artists art gallery, Art Space. Her book, Learning Life: A Memoir, Volume 1, was published in August of 2022. Building Life, Volume 2 of the memoir series, was published in May of 2024.
Sylvia will be donating 100% of her compensation for this workshop to the Cape May Food Closet.