An artist who paints with words

By Monica Nungraray
The Collegian

Sharon Bryan shared some of her favorite poems along with slides of paintings at the Smittcamp Alumni house Tuesday night.

Bryan has a history of published books and has edited poetry books as well. She said to her audience that although she was not sophisticated in her knowledge of painting she felt that she had a lot more in common with an artist than with a non-fiction writer.

Bryan has used “painting terms” in her poetry and will share it with her graduate students this semester, “I feel that my graduate students are the best I’ve ever had,” Bryan said.

Bryan read over poems from different poets and then showed the painting for which the poem was portraying. Her lecture was based on “(In)visible,” showing how one can see more with their eyes closed.

“The images in my head are so much more vivid than what I can see on television,” Bryan said.

She explained what was real in the world, and that the most unrealistic thing was reality TV. If the universe is 95 percent of dark matter, which is invisible, she wanted to resist the notion that reality is synonymous with the visual.

Bryan read, compared and contrasted poems throughout the night. Her audience consisted of over 50 persons and closed their eyes when Bryan began to read the poems.

One student, Cassandra Kilgore, who is getting her English credential said, “I came tonight to have the experience of listening to an original author. I think what she has to say will be very interesting because poetry is an art form. It’s another way of painting only in words instead.”

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