Call for Ekphrastic Submissions: The Switcheroo! (deadline 4/10/21)
BROADSIDED PRESS ANNUAL SWITCHEROO
WANTED: Ekphrastic Responses to artist Meghan Keane’s painting “Untitled (Brooklyn)”
DEADLINE: April 10, 2021
Broadsided Press is seeking submissions of poetry and short prose that respond to this painting by artist Meghan Keane.
The winning submission of writing will be published on May 1, 2021 as a Broadsided collaboration to occupy the doors, utility poles, bus stops, and walls of the world. Submission guidelines and details follow.
This the 18th Broadsided Press “Switcheroo.” What is The Switcheroo? Every spring, we like to turn the tables and invite writers to respond to art we post (most of our publications are created the opposite way).
Broadsided artists were invited to submit up to three pieces of work for the Switcheroo. We then asked Janice Redman, the 2020 Switcheroo artist, to review the submissions and choose one she thought would be generative for writers and would work in Broadsided’s unique format. Of her decision, Redman had this to say:
Why did I choose this painting? I was drawn to the mountainous range of the shiny, tightly-pulled hair over the perforated rollers with sharp grips holding everything in place, the intimacy and the physicality of it, the early childhood memory of my own mother sitting there, the strange otherworldness of these alien, plastic, spiky things forced in place, precariously held by the grips, pushing along the scalp… visceral memory and curiosity pulled at me.
There is a story here, a moment revealed—intimate, private. Or maybe the opposite, public, open, social. But whichever way, a moment caught, a ritual performed.
With so much evoked in my own being by just looking at this painting, I thought it might call forth some wonderful responses by writers. I look forward to seeing what appears.
—Janice Redman, Truro, MA
GUIDANCE:
Poems should be UNDER 20 lines. Prose should be UNDER 300 words. Entries should be sent via Submittable under the “Switcheroo” tab. Further guidelines can be found there.
Curious to know what we’re looking for? See past Switcheroo examples.
We’ve favored responses that are not literal interpretations but instead instead amplify some emotional aspect of the visual art. As both image and text will appear together in the final publication, we seek writing in conversation with the art such that a new piece is created by the two together.
A pdf of this announcement can be downloaded here: Switcheroo2021-BroadsidedPress-10AprilDeadline.
PS: We are are also open for non-Switcheroo submissions. See our guidelines. If selected, a Broadsided artist will respond to your work. See what you inspire!