An anthology of the written word inspired by visual art
Have you ever seen a story in the lines and colors of a painting? Have a sculpture’s curves and shadows ever conjured a poem in your mind?
Artwork inspires some of our favorite poems, paintings, and songs. A poem might describe specific images in a painting. People in a photograph could feature in a short story. An essay may explore a sculpture’s tumultuous history, or a flash fiction piece may invent one.
Your inspiration can be a painting, sculpture, photograph, mural, installation, etc. We want your poetry, fiction, nonfiction, and essays (1,500 words max). Of course, rough drafts are welcome! As long as your piece is inspired by a single work of art, the possibilities are limitless. Fifteen finalists will be published in a printed anthology alongside original artwork and celebrated by friends, family, and fellow authors at a book release party and signing.
"I try to apply colors like words that shape poems,
like notes that shape music."
- Joan Miró
- Orlando Museum of Art (paid admission)
- Rollins Museum of Art (free admission)
- Mennello Museum of American Art (paid admission)
- Art and History Museums Maitland (paid admission)
- Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens (paid admission)
- The Art Institute of Chicago
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art
- National Gallery of Art
- The Museum of Modern Art
- Brooklyn Museum
- The Getty
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Guggenheim
- The Problem We All Live With, Norman Rockwell (1964)
- Untitled (DJ), Keith Haring (1983)
- Water Lillies and Japanese Bridge, Claude Monet (1899)
- Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston, Neil Leifer (1965)
- The Veiled Virgin, Giovanni Strazza (1850s)
- The Kiss, Gustav Klimt (1908)
- Wheat Field with Cypresses, Vincent Van Gogh (1889)
- Winged Victory of Samothrace, Hellenistic Era (200–190 BC)
- Bird On Money, Jean-Michel Basquiat (1981)
- Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.), Félix González-Torres (1991)
- Grooving High, Faith Ringgold (1986)
- Amelia Island, Clyde Butcher (1989)
- I Go to Prepare a Place for You, Bisa Butler (2021)
- A Companion of Diana, Jean-Louis Lemoyne (1724)
- The Swing, Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1767)
- The Safety Patrol, Bisa Butler (2018)
DEADLINE: January 31st, 2025
*⚠️Due to school board security protocols, you may not be able to access the form while signed into your school email addresses or from school wifi. You will have to sign into a personal Gmail account. If you’re having trouble switching over to a personal account, I would recommend opening the submission form in an incognito window. These windows are like blank slates, so you’ll be signed out of all your accounts.