Artwords

“In Artwords, Charles Ghigna paints in verse, offering poetic portraits of iconic artists and writers that are variously (and sometimes simultaneously) playful, poignant, and profound. Readers will relish these ‘speaking likenesses,’ which both pay homage to their subjects and evoke their most beloved artistic and literary achievements.”


—Graham C. Boettcher, Director, Birmingham Museum of Art





“The masters of paintbrush and pen come to life as Charles Ghigna uses poetry to capture the nature of their art while sharing a glimpse into their hearts. The resulting poems in this collection are exquisite yet accessible. While educational and informative, laced with biographical detail and fact, Ghigna’s poems to the masters are, themselves, little masterpieces.”


—Allan Wolf, author of The Snow Fell Three Graves Deep





“Using a variety of poetic forms, Ghigna creates expressive poem portraits of two dozen famous artists and poets, from Claude Monet (‘Bearded lover of light’) to Walt Whitman (‘A fearless wild phoebe’), bringing each one to life with witty allusions to their works and clever homages to their legacies.”


—Sylvia Vardell, Professor, Texas Woman’s University, and poetry anthologist, A World Full of Poems





“This may be Ghigna’s best work yet.”


—David L. Harrison, author and poet





“Each of Charles Ghigna’s twenty-four art-portrait poems is a masterpiece comparable to the famed artists and poets he apostrophizes in various magnetic poetic forms—Vincent Van Gogh, El Greco, Pablo Picasso, Walt Whitman, and Mark Strand, to name a few. Indeed, this is a book to put under your pillow at night so the craft and joy of it will inform the day.”


—Sue Walker, Professor emerita, the University of South Alabama, and former Poet Laureate of Alabama





“Written with admiration and deep understanding, these poems by Charles Ghigna bring us into direct contact with the creative process of twelve poets and twelve painters. By addressing the artists who have influenced him, Ghigna engages intimately with the sparks of brilliance they emit and helps us remember, as he writes in ‘El Greco,’ that the greatest art is about ‘more / than meets the eye.’ After reading these lyrically rich poems, I felt inspired to revisit my own beloveds.”


—Jennifer Horne, Poet Laureate of Alabama