Description
These verse-essays took rise from the encounters of a literary critic, turned philosopher, turned poet, with paintings that variously moved, intrigued, amazed, bewildered, fascinated, or, to begin with, somewhat repelled him. As one whose responses to visual artworks are often informed by those other, still active interests, he makes no pretence of coming to artworks with an ‘innocent eye’, or of conveying their impact in a more direct or immediate way. Rather, Norris assumes that the experience of appreciating art, like that of creating it, is always deeply affected by cultural, social, and historical factors, as well as by cognitive aptitudes, whether widely shared or individual.
Hence his avoidance of ‘pure’ lyric evocation and use of more extended (including narrative) verse-forms, as likewise his choice of often complex rhyme-schemes and stanzas. These serve to make each painting the focal point of discourses ranging from philosophy and literary criticism to psychoanalysis, cultural materialism, and colour-theory. They also provide further impetus to current developments that treat the artwork – along with the artworld – as rightfully open to much wider and more active participation than in earlier ages.
REVIEW
Here’s another dazzling set of poems from Christopher Norris. At its heart is a concern with rhyme and meter and there is a gallery of verse forms on show. Villanelles, terzanelles, sonnets, sestinas, and quatrains act as frames, bringing fresh perspectives to bear on masterpieces from Titian to Francis Bacon, Caravaggio to Turner, and Artemisia Gentileschi to Magritte.
The collection is part challenge, throwing down the gauntlet to the modernist tradition of free verse, and part celebration of the inexhaustible nature of great art. Norris’ versatility is on full show here, from sensuous evocation to analytic precision resulting in a cascade of revelations about the intertwining of poetry and painting.
A must for the shelf of every art lover.
Gary Day. Winner of the 2025 Brilliant Poetry Prize
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