Mutuality in Poetry and Art


Poetry [is to] Art [as] Art [is to] Poetry

In Resonance: Poetry and Art (Sixth Floor Press, 2008), I wrote of poetry and art as ―intricately inter-woven...processes...two avenues into a creative core.‖ This has proved no less true for the work engendered through this, our second collaborative venture with the artists. The experience of ―mutuality‖ has moved in new directions. I’ve experienced the exhilaration of knowing that a poem of mine, ― "Inukshuk: sun at four o’clock", inspired the creation of the luminous watercolour, ― Celtic Cairn,‖ by Barbara Feith. My poem, "forest dancer", inspired by Gail Read’s Moon over Black Creek, began in the solitary silence of the Gallery Space of the Women’s Art Association where I spent time last spring, reflecting on last year’s exhibit, Resonance: Poetry and Art.

Artists, Wendy Weaver, Carolyn Jongeward, Lynne Ritchie and Marjorie Moeser were the ones who discovered resonances in their paintings with several of my poems and deepened my insights into both my poetry and their art...

There is a translucent line between poetry and art. The boundaries are porous. Poets are often painters and artists have been known to write poetry. As a result of this project, artist Mary Lou Payzant and I decided to transgress one of these boundaries and embark on the writing of rengas, an ancient form of collaborative poetry. The experience was a source of creative synergy – with positive spin-offs into our more solitary endeavours as poet and painter...

It continues to be a gift to know and engage creatively with the studio members of the Women’s Art Association of Canada. Mutuality in Poetry and Art has strengthened ties of friendship and respect, and I look forward to continuing our journeys in/through the fluid boundaries between poetry and art.

Hear Selected Poems:

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The selections of prose, poetry and art included here are from the limited edition DVD, Mutuality in Poetry and Art, (Sixth Floor Press, 2009). It featured the work of the Long Dash Group of poets, of which Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes is a member, and Studio Artists from the Women’s Art Association of Canada. The DVD marked the second year of the long-running collaborative project between the two groups initiated by poet, Mary Lou Soutar-Hynes and artist, Marjorie Moeser.