Ekphrastic Reading at the Schweinfurth Art Center

Ten members of the CNY Branch of the NLAPW created and read their works in response to the art in the Made in New York exhibition at the Schweinfurth Art Center on the evening of May 15, 2025. Branch President Janine DeBaise led the group with an introduction and her poems "Shadows" and "I dreamed sailboats," followed by Mary Gardner who gave a brief history of our ekphrastic readings at the Schweinfurth and read her poems "Poet in Full Tilt," "Plea, Rising," and "Rethinking Space."

Nancy Bensen made the long trek to Auburn from her new home with the poems “a home with a soul” inspired by

member Rachel Dickinson’s “Nice Porch,” and followed it with “after the storm" and “one passenger on a train." Bobbie Dumas Panek brought both a little humor and serious contemplation to her reading of her poems “Dirty," “Notes in Hollow Spaces," and

“Religion." Karen Hempson read her prose piece "Trepidation," and Janet Fagal read her painting inspired poems “Untitled,“

“No Screens in Sight,” and “Gin and Tonic with Lime.“ Susan Wolstenholm read her poem “Don’t Worry” inspired by

Roberta Ripberger’s “Don’t Worry, No One is Looking at You,” and Carolyn Clark read her poems “Shiny Tantra Lies,“

“Pro Patria Mori inspired by best in show winner Marcia Brozyna’s “Blood Coming Out,” and finished her reading with

“Hold High."

Stacey Murphy read her poems "When the Wind Shifts,” “Nitroglycerin,” and “Between the Rows” inspired by

Susan Begy’s lamp sculpture “Ruby Slip.” Nancy Dafoe brought the special evening to a close reading her works “Vectors in Ink”

“Notebooks and Threads,” and “Apology to a Young Black Woman,” inspired by Virginia Harrington’s painting “Gh one.”

Following the reading, several of the Made in New York artists and CNY Branch poets met and talked about the exchange of ideas through the arts.

Photos: CNY Branch President Janine DeBaise (top), Stacey Murphy (immediately below) and Nancy Bansen (bottom).