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Description:
Ekphrasis is a type of writing that focuses its content on an artistic reference point like a photograph or piece of visual art. In my opinion it can also be a piece of nature or a still moment in real life. The point is to rely on imagery more than theme. Allusion is a literary device that we all have seen but don’t necessarily notice. It’s simply when writing refers directly to something else: a person, another piece of artwork, an event, or some form of cultural content. The more obscure the allusion, the smarter the writer. And also, a smart writer whose readers don’t know what they are reading about may lose readers.
This workshop will focus on using ekphrasis and allusion to create cultural references in poetry that will serve to memorialize events, aesthetics, and mindsets. Najah will lead attendees through writing exercises using ekphrasis and allusion to create poems that stand as recognition and remembrance of specific moments in time, especially those relevant to people of the Black diaspora.
Bio:
Najah Amatullah Hylton, M.A. literature, is a lifelong storyteller with over a decade of educational experience blending history with cultural insight. She primarily writes articles and poetry.
Najah is the co-author of children’s book Opal’s Greenwood Oasis, the poet behind Jabee’s hip hop album Black Future, and co-creator of a curriculum guide for the hip hop album Fire in Little Africa. Najah has two self-published poetry books, The Risk to Bloom (2014) and Dangerously Absurd Places (2023). Najah speaks and performs to amplify diasporic Blackness. She reads and publishes writing to curate a legacy of resilience, community, and cultural preservation.
Description:
Ekphrasis is a type of writing that focuses its content on an artistic reference point like a photograph or piece of visual art. In my opinion it can also be a piece of nature or a still moment in real life. The point is to rely on imagery more than theme. Allusion is a literary device that we all have seen but don’t necessarily notice. It’s simply when writing refers directly to something else: a person, another piece of artwork, an event, or some form of cultural content. The more obscure the allusion, the smarter the writer. And also, a smart writer whose readers don’t know what they are reading about may lose readers.
This workshop will focus on using ekphrasis and allusion to create cultural references in poetry that will serve to memorialize events, aesthetics, and mindsets. Najah will lead attendees through writing exercises using ekphrasis and allusion to create poems that stand as recognition and remembrance of specific moments in time, especially those relevant to people of the Black diaspora.
Bio:
Najah Amatullah Hylton, M.A. literature, is a lifelong storyteller with over a decade of educational experience blending history with cultural insight. She primarily writes articles and poetry.
Najah is the co-author of children’s book Opal’s Greenwood Oasis, the poet behind Jabee’s hip hop album Black Future, and co-creator of a curriculum guide for the hip hop album Fire in Little Africa. Najah has two self-published poetry books, The Risk to Bloom (2014) and Dangerously Absurd Places (2023). Najah speaks and performs to amplify diasporic Blackness. She reads and publishes writing to curate a legacy of resilience, community, and cultural preservation.