Poets & Writers
Published on Poets & Writers (https://www.pw.org)

Home > Convex Mirror

Convex Mirror [1]

Poetry [2]
8.2.22

The late poet and critic John Ashbery’s Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (Viking, 1975) is considered his masterpiece, having won the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, and the National Book Award. The long title poem [3] is a meditation on sixteenth-century Italian artist Parmigianino’s painting of the same name. Ashbery writes: “The surface / Of the mirror being convex, the distance increases / Significantly; that is, enough to make the point / That the soul is a captive.” This week write a poem about your reflection. Whether seen through a traditional mirror, a body of water, or a distorted lens, begin with a description of what you see and follow through with an inner reflection.


Source URL:https://www.pw.org/content/convex_mirror

Links
[1] https://www.pw.org/content/convex_mirror [2] https://www.pw.org/genre/poetry [3] https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/browse?volume=124&issue=5&page=3