National Poetry Month is just around the corner!
Each year, the Witte partners with local poets and art institutions to explore how artwork and artifacts inspire powerful narratives through poetry, as part of the Ekphrastic Poetry Contest. This year, we invite you to submit a poem inspired by the Salesman’s Sample Horned Chair from our collection.
The winning poem will be featured on participating sites throughout April in celebration of National Poetry Month.
Salesman’s Sample Horned Chair
Gift of Mrs. Harriette L. Tinkle
Charles Puppe, a “Manufacturer of Horn Chairs & Furniture Repair,” crafted this miniature chair around 1890 from steer horns with a cowhide upholstered seat. Salesmen often carried small-scale models of larger products, allowing customers to preview items such as windmills, stoves or pieces of furniture, like this horned chair. Horn furniture gained popularity during the great cattle drives of the 1870s.
You can find the Salesman’s Sample Horned Chair in the Cabinets of Wonder located in the Witte’s Valero Great Hall. Reserve your Museum Admission online here or purchase tickets at the Walker Admission Desk upon arrival.
What is an ekphrastic poem?
An ekphrastic poem is written in response to an artwork. These poems take an existing piece of visual art, and uses written words to describe and expand on the theme of that work of art. The poem should not simply describe the artwork; it should express how the art enlightens, puzzles, moves, inspires you, etc. Many of these poems explore hidden meanings or an underlying story.
Contest Information
San Antonio and South Texas poets are invited to submit poems inspired by artworks from five San Antonio arts institutions.
Categories:
- Adults
- Youth, ages 13 – 17
- Youth, age 12 and under
Contest Opens: February 5, 2025
Submission Deadline: March 7, 2025
There is no entry fee to the contest but Museum Admission is required to view the Salesman’s Sample Horned Chair.
Submission Details:
- Up to two (2) poems that respond to the art (each a maximum of 15 lines plus title). Express how the art puzzles, moves, frightens, enlightens you, etc.
- Please do not put your name or identifying info on the poem. Do not include artwork image on poem or in email.
- Attach one poem per email in a PDF or Microsoft Word doc or docx to EkphrasticPoetryContest1@gmail.com. Subject line should read: Ekphrastic Poetry Contest Submission (YOUTH or ADULT) – (Title of Selected Artwork).
- Your email must include: your name, title of your poem, city & state, phone and email.
- Youth entries must include age.
Winners will be notified via email by March 19 and must attach their winning poem(s) as a PDF in an email to EkphrasticPoetryContest1@gmail.com with email subject line: (ADULT or YOUTH) Winning Poem PDF – (Your Name). Winning poems will be posted at online sites throughout April, National Poetry Month.
Save the date! The winning poets will read their poems in an Ekphrastic Celebration Reading at Ruby City on April 5th, 2025 at 10 a.m.
Judges: Jim LaVilla Havelin, 2025 National Poetry Month coordinator, Eddie Vega, San Antonio Poet Laureate, and Linda Simone, poet & artist, will select up to three poems per artwork for each category.
You can find additional artworks and poems at partner museums:
- The Briscoe Western Art Museum: Twilight Owl, Edwoud de Groot. Oil on canvas, 36 x 48 in., Loan courtesy of the Jack and Valerie Guenther Foundation
- The McNay: Hudson River Day Line, Joan Mitchell, 1955. Oil on canvas, 79 x 83 in., Museum purchase with funds from the Tobin Foundation
- Ruby City: Living through strange times, Wangechi Mutu, 2004. Linda Pace Foundation Collection, Ruby City, San Antonio, Texas
- San Antonio Museum of Art: Man Playing Trumpet, Marcus Leslie Singleton, 2020. Oil on canvas, 48 x 36 in., San Antonio Museum of Art, gift of Lenora and Walter F. Brown