This project of mine, writing poems as a response to food-themed art, has the added benefit of making me more mindful of small things. Like cherries. They have associations beyond, well, cherries. I remembered Marcel Proust and his madeleines. They…
Fruits of Midi – A Poem
In France, the southern regions along the Mediterranean Coast are known colloquially as le Midi. It’s thought Renoir may have painted this still life somewhere in le Midi on his way to study classical paintings in Italy. There’s a more…
World Bee Day – May 20
It’s United Nations World Bee Day on May 20! More info on the importance of pollinators here And here is my little tribute to the bee.
Figs – A Poem
Figs are one of my favourite fruit. When I was in Greece, I was thunderstuck by the amount of figs fallen to the footpaths from overhanging trees. Fallen figs were underfoot. All that gorgeous bounty, gone to waste. I was…
Ten Minute Tuna Pasta On the Run
This is why we always need pasta and tinned tuna in the pantry. This ten-minute tuna pasta, while maybe not as sexy as say, a slow-cook beef ragu, was born out of the necessity for a quick, nutritious, tasty, filling…
Two-Step Passionfruit Slice
Who doesn’t love passionfruit? Sweet, tarty – the idea of a little surprise when you cut it open. It is the Kinder Surprise of the natural world. And, you can use either fresh or tinned passionfruit pulp for this two-step…
Beyond the Fireplace – A Poem
If you follow the source link in the caption below the image, you’ll discover that this painting was used as a screen in a fireplace. The idea was to make it look like there was another room beyond the hearth….
Grapes, Lemons, Pears and Apples – A Poem
I was inspired to write this poem by the intensity of van Gogh’s colours, and in particular the brushwork of the tablecloth. It seemed to me as if the fruit are falling into hyperspace, or are themselves experimenting with gravity…
Auntie – A Poem
I’m finding a lot of synchronicity with this ekphrastic poetry series. Or it could just be that I’m drawn to art which infuses everyday activities with quiet dignity. The artist here is James McNeill Whistler, he of Whistler’s Mother. He’s…
For the Cubists – A Poem
The artist here, Ben Benn was a pioneering modernist. Born in 1884 in what is now known as Ukraine, he migrated to America with his family and settled in New York, where he first exhibited in the early 1900s with…
Dinner Favors – A Meditation
Spreading positive vibes with poetry, and music. I find making these “meditations” inspiring and uplifting, too. It’s beautiful to connect to old words. Words: Arthur Macy (1842-1904). Poem in the public domain. Images: PexelsMusic: YouTube Library Here is another meditation.
Apple Haiku
I was particularly struck, not just by the concentration in this young woman’s face and demeanour, but by the notes on The Met website (see link in Source in the caption below). The painter Nicolaes Maes deliberately veered away from…
