Lakeland poets in the Mead Public Library Poetry Circle collaborated with Sheboygan Visual Artists for a crossover exhibit at EBCO ArtWorks titled “Intersections: Art & Poetry,” which opened on Friday, March 18.

The exhibit displayed art inspired by poetry and vise versa. To create the content, participating artists and poets were shown three pieces of poetry or art from the other side and told to choose one as a source for their next work. The results were shown next to their sources at the exhibit.

The Mead Public Library Poetry Circle, led by Lakeland’s Fessler Professor of Creative Writing and Poet in Residence Karl Elder, first collaborated with Sheboygan Visual Artists in 2014 for a similar exhibit. After the exhibit’s one-year hiatus, the groups decided to further explore the concept of ekphrasis, meaning poetry written around art.

Lakeland poets featured at the exhibit include Elder, Assistant Professor of Composition Jodie Liedke, Community Relations Manager Gina Covelli and alumni Dawn Hogue and Maryann Hurtt.

The opening event took place from 6 p.m. until 10 p.m. Visitors could speak with participating artists and poets as they viewed their work.

Two live poetry readings, one at 6:30 p.m. and one at 8 p.m., took place. The first saw participating poets reading their art-inspired poetry. The second saw poets reading poetry chosen by participating artists to work off of before the artists spoke about their corresponding art.

Beyond opening weekend, the exhibit will be open for viewing on Saturday, April 2, Sunday, April 3, Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10.
To visit the exhibit, go to EBCO ArtWorks, located at 1201 Erie Avenue, Sheboygan, WI, 53081.