Ekphrastic writing is about visual art.  Traditionally, the writer describes a piece of art and responds to it. Therefore, it's usually the writer who begins the process; the artist may not even be alive, in the case of works from earlier eras.

In collaboration with Atlanta artist and writer Nina West, I set out to try something different: a two-way exchange in which I respond to Nina's drawings and the writers about my black-and-white photos. In November, 2025, we published an elegant chapbook, 36 pages long.  The title, Double Vision, refers to the fact that each of us communicated our vision of what we saw and felt in the other's artwork. The illustration on this page is of the cover.  Design: Stephanie Molnar. See more of her work at: https://www.stephaniemolnarportfolio.com.

Here's what we wrote in the Preface:
 

Nina and I belonged to a Unitarian Universalist group Liberal Religious Youth (LRY) and we became friends on an LRY alumni Facebook group, where I admired her highly detailed drawings and eloquent personal essays. We finally met face-to-face when I visited  Atlanta. Nina told me that her work, despite its quality, had not been much published.  I suggested that she write responses to my photographs. I’d do the same with her drawings. Nina immediately agreed. 

Our process was simple: we shared images with each other, saying little about what they represented or our intentions in making them. Either prose or poetry responses were acceptable. It’s fascinating to read what she sees in my photos, often layers of meaning I had barely thought about.  The photo accompanying “Hornby Island,” was shot on black and white film. The rest are digital, converted from colour images to black and white, via Photoshop.  No AI involved.  

– John 

 

Engaging in this process with John has been such a pleasure. No one has ever looked so closely and described what they saw in my art. It's been delightful to read what John wrote and to discover that he does see what I was expressing. And in some cases, where I haven't been sure myself  what an image meant, he's illuminated and extracted meaning that is spot on. I've also found the process very liberating. 

I'm well accustomed to looking at art and thinking of it in terms of the formal elements. This was different because it allowed me to respond creatively, as if part of the double vision is two artists and two writers, but also visual art and written art. – Nina

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Review by James M. Fisher in The Seaboard Review:
"It is most fascinating the way that Nina West interprets John’s photograph, seeing things that I never noticed or describing what see can see with her artist’s fine eye for visuals. John’s interpretations of Nina’s art are no less compelling. “Chiaroscuro” is a favourite, with John rendering his interpretation of Nina’s dramatic sketch in verse.

In all, there are 15 responses to each other’s images, and one can sense the enjoyment that each had in completing this ekphrastic exercise... “Fascinating” and “delightful” are two words that best describe Double Vision in my estimation. I truly enjoyed this little chapbook, and I’ll certainly look a little closer at details in photographs and art now."

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To buy a copy, contact joughton1@gmail.com.