The Uncanny Resemblance Between Photography and Poetry: A Reflective Exploration

I write and perform poetry and have been a photographer for too long. To me, all art is fundamentally the same. The medium may differ, as does the craft of the medium, but at the core, art is a way to tell a story. I can convey a narrative through a play, an opera, a novel, a graphic novel, a poem, or a photograph. If talent were on my side, I could also express it through dance or music.

Each medium emphasizes different aspects of the story. It comes down to which craft best serves the intent. Particularly, I find a striking resemblance between poetry and photography. Both forms use a limited amount of information that is dense and complete. They also possess musicality and an array of ambiguity that heightens their emotional depth.

Emotions and Snapshots

Poetry isn't always solely about an emotion, but most good poetry does inspire an emotional response, even if it's buried beneath the surface. A poem can be a snapshot of an emotional scene or moment, just like a photograph is of light bouncing off objects. Good photography involves selecting a great shot from a constant influx of visual impressions. Similarly, a poet must pick the right moments from their emotions to capture the essence of a story.

William Carlos Williams and the Visual Cipher

William Carlos Williams, a renowned poet, beautifully encapsulates this idea in his work. One of my favorite poems of his, 'To a Poor Old Woman,' demonstrates how the arrangement of words and line breaks can heighten the emotional impact. The repetition of a phrase, broken up with deliberate line breaks, makes the reader pause and process each word more deeply. This technique is mirrored in Charles Demuth's painting Sterling Gray, which was inspired by Williams' poem. The visual art captures the essence of the poem in a slightly abstract manner.

The Lies of Art

Both photography and poetry can be deceptive. When taking a photograph, there are elements in the background that can't be seen unless viewed in person. Similarly, poetry can only capture a limited part of an emotional or intellectual journey. Excessively analyzing a subject from multiple angles may merely flatten it, robbing it of its live. Poets, like skilled photographers, often take a succinct viewpoint, crafting their words into a brief, meaningful statement.

Good photographs focus on a single subject, much like a poem. The photographer must compose the image to show what the viewer should see or provide a strong hint. Likewise, a poem's imagery should guide the reader through the emotional landscape. Some photographs, however, may play with the process itself, and poetry can also be self-referential. The elements of both art forms—whether it's light and color in photography or words and rhythm in poetry—can be seen as playing for serious effect.

Long poems like Wallace Stevens' 'The Man with the Blue Guitar' can span considerable parts and be quite lengthy. These works often delve deeply into the creative process, much like long-form photography projects. However, they should remain accessible, much like a photograph that can tell a complete story within its frame. Meanwhile, shorter poems like 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' use rhyming and structure to tell a more structured story, though it still has a poetic quality that sets it apart from a straightforward narrative.

In conclusion, photography and poetry share an uncanny resemblance in their ability to capture and convey emotions and stories. Both forms use selective presentation to evoke a deeper emotional response in the viewer. As an artist who explores both mediums, I find that these art forms are more similar than different, each in their way telling stories through the lens of light, color, and words.