“Perchance to dream,” JC’s poem in response to “Amy and the Queen” by Atlanta artist Debbie Walker-Lass, appears in the November 2022 issue of the online literary journal, THE LIGHT EKPHRASTIC.
Walker-Lass’s image “Cherish Togetherness Forever,” responds to JC’s found poem, “Recovery efforts,” written under her pseudonym A. Garnett Weiss. The five-line poem draws words unaltered from one day’s obituary articles and death notices in the Toronto GLOBE AND MAIL.
Here is the link to their collaboration: https://thelightekphrastic.com/walker-lass-sulzenko-november-2022/
“I am grateful to Editor Jenny O’Grady’s for her choice of the artist with whose work I could interact and for this opportunity to be published in November’s THE LIGHT EKPHRASTIC.
“I revel in writing ekphrastic poems, which gives me both freedom to take an image to heart and respond to it without any restrictions on how, but also demands I respect my partner artist’s original creation.
“Debbie and I chose not to discuss how we were approaching each other’s work while we were doing so. It is always a wonder to me when I first see the artist’s visual interpretation of my words. There is both suspense and mystery in the process.
“I thank Debbie Walker-Lass for this collaboration–a unique experience which resonates deeply.”
JC’s love for ekphrastic poetry isn’t new. She wrote for and curated poetry for the exhibition and chapbook Ekphrasis at Blizzmax Gallery, participated in the County CollAboRaTive exhibition and collector’s book, and co-authored a chapbook of collaborative ekphrastic poems, SLANT OF LIGHT, with Carol A. Stephen, with whom she has a full manuscript, BREATH OF SKY AND WATER, seeking a publisher.
Most recently, her cento “Repeatedly, now in a dream,” was a finalist in The Poets Corner’s Ekphrastic Pairings: poetry, paintings and photography event. Here’s a link to that November 13 program from Maine: https://www.thepoetscorner.org/events/ekphrastic-pairings . JC’s reading as A. Garnett Weiss appears at around the 35-minute mark.
The County Reads: JC Sulzenko Presents ALL THE COLOUR IN THE WORLD April 18 in Picton
JC is honoured to be one of five debaters proposing titles in this year’s The County Reads event at 7:00 PM, Thursday, April 18 at St. Mary Magdalene Church, Picton, Prince Edward County.
On the eve of the Authors Festival, the in-person audience enjoys verbal fisticuffs as debaters argue why their book should be read by everyone in the County. Books must be Canadian and have been published during the last five years. The audience then fills out secret ballots which, once tallied, confirm the winning title (and presenter!)
Here’s a link to the event on the Prince Edward Public Library’s website. Tickets @$10 can be purchased at branches of the Library:
https://www.peclibrary.org/countyreads/
Here’s a link to the story in this week’s Picton Gazette, written by the paper’s publisher who also is one of the contestants:
https://pictongazette.ca/post/reading-the-room
“I chose to champion C.S. Richardson’s All the Colour in the World, a finalist for the 2023 Giller Prize, because I couldn’t put it down. And it’s not a whodunnit,” JC explained. She isn’t saying anything more until the event.
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