GOT THE BLUES

Ekphrastic poetry, inspired by a work of art, is enthralling to write and intriguing to read. It takes a second bite at the cherry of inspiration, with the additional angle of interpretation. If you’ve enjoyed Keats’ Ode on a Grecian Urn, Anne Sexton’s The Starry Night or Shelley’s Ozymandias you will appreciate the delight of ekphrasis, whether or not you’ve seen the artwork about which the poem is written.

The inspiration for Neil Zoladkiewicz, a drama teacher from New Malden, Surrey, was a picture. He writes of his poem: ‘It is based on a photograph by one of my ex-students for his 2nd year Photography degree. He