Meet Chris Tonelli of So&So Books

Sometimes, we think Chris Tonelli is everywhere: he co-owns So&So Books in Mordecai and runs the So&So reading series, he’s an editor at the press Birds, LLC, he’s in charge of public relations for the NC State libraries. He’s also running a one-day event for us on Saturday, December 7 at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

A writing event at an art museum, you ask? We sat down with Chris to find out why the workshop’s meeting at the NCMA, and what participants can expect.

Redbud: Tell us a little bit about this event. What kinds of activities will you do? Where will you go?

The way I see the day going, but I'm open to however the group wants to spend the day, is reading and discussing a few examples of ekphrasis in both poetry and prose--studying the art works they're based on and the characteristics of the writers' responses. I want us to really get a feel for the various ways art can be responded to in writing. Then, depending on the weather, we can take a walk through the NCMA's amazing campus to check out some of their larger, experiential installations. Then we can head inside and take a spin through the collections/exhibits throughout the NCMA's two buildings. Then I think we can spend some time drafting a piece based on something that moved us throughout the day. And finally, we can reconvene to share those responses. Hopefully by the end of the day, participants will have a worthwhile draft of something that they're happy with or are at least excited to keep working on.

Redbud: So what is ekphrasis? Can you tell us a bit about this practice, and what writers can gain from it?

My definition of ekphrasis is p r e t t y loose...but in terms of this particular workshop, let's say that it means a piece of writing that is inspired by and/or responds to a work of art. In the context of the NCMA, it'll most likely be visual art of some sort. It's a practice that's been going on for eons...think Homer describing the intricately sculpted shields of warriors. And most people, especially those that do crossword puzzles, think of Keats and the Grecian urn. Then maybe Auden's "In the Musée des Beaux Arts" about Icarus...there are countless examples. The reason I like ekphrasis as a teaching tool is that it forces writers to get outside themselves and focus on something else. Using art as a lens into something personal is often more interesting than the raw, often sentimental, personal thing...or at least it provides some sort of filter or checks and balances anyway.

Redbud: What's your favorite piece of art/sculpture at the NC Museum of Art? Tell us about something there that's inspired you in the past, and how.

I'm going to cheat and pick two...the Franz Kline painting that they have there and the El Anatsui sculpture. They both have minimalist aspects that I'm always drawn to, but somehow are infinitely interesting and complex in form and content, and in very different ways.

Redbud: What are some examples of ekphrastic poetry, or even fiction, that interested readers might want to check out?

I know it's an obvious choice, but Auden's poem that I mentioned before really gets at the heart of existence for me in how it responds to Bruegel's painting of Icarus falling from the sky. This mythic figure is presumably dying in the water, but that doesn't mean the fields don't need plowing. I also love Ashbery's "Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror", which is a much more personal, longer meditation. William Carlos Williams has some great ones, also Bruegel-based. But my all time fave has to be O'Hara's "Why I Am Not a Painter" about the Goldberg painting SARDINES. In terms of prose, and this may be cheating a bit, Kafka's Hunger Artist, Wilde's Dorian Gray, Charlotte Brontë deals with it in Villette, Dostoyevsky in The Idiot...so it's not rare.

Redbud: Anything else we should know about the event/about anything?

I think it's important to note that the work you come away with that day might not be about a specific piece at the NCMA or even a work of art at all. Sometimes just being around art or engaging with nature can conjure things and spawn ideas/feelings, so I want participants to be open to work NOT inspired by art. Or it could be the people looking at art are more interesting than the art that day, or a bird or tree or the sky.

For more information or to sign up, visit our Short Workshops page. Early-bird registration ends on November 28!