LITERARY ARTS

WHAT WE DO

The Arts Council supports and promotes writers, artists, and poets in our community. We offer an array of opportunities to our literature enthusiast. Become a member to take advantage of all the opportunities.

There is no rule on how to write. Sometimes it comes easily and perfectly; sometimes it’s like drilling rock and then blasting it out with charges

~ Ernest Hemmingway

LITERARY ARTS EVENTS

january

18jan6:00 pm9:00 pmCamera Eyes: On Poetry, Art & Poetry Exhibit feat. JoAnn Lord Koff

Event Details

Local Published Poet to Display Art & Poetry at Center for the Arts in “Camera Eyes: On Poetry” Exhibit

Exhibit Dates: January 15-February 5, 2020
Meet the Poet Reception: January 18, 6-9 pm (Poetry Recitation: 6:45 pm)
(Snow Date: January 25, 6-9 pm)

The Center for the Arts is pleased to present “Camera Eyes: On Poetry”, featuring local published poet and photographer, JoAnn Lord Koff.

Camera Eyes: On Poetry cultivates a visceral connection between JoAnn’s original, timeless photographic images and the heartfelt vision within her accompanying poems. In trying to mix two mediums, visual images and printed words, JoAnn connects what is a “truism”, using pictures as words and vice versa. Photography is an instantaneous art form, which can rarely be duplicated. A poem on the other hand, often ferments before its fragile birth and requires time to mature in rewriting. Each relies on instinct and wants its audience to feel its meaning or expression nonetheless. The exhibit consists of approximately 30 pieces of poetry and photography based on JoAnn’s book “Sand, Pebbles, Fossils, and Rocks”, a 2019 nominee for the Library of Virginia Literary Award for Poetry. It will run concurrently with the Regional Poetry Out Loud competition at the Center for the Arts held on January 23, 1-4 pm.

About JoAnn Lord Koff:
JoAnn Lord Koff is a resident of Northern Virginia. Her philosophy of life is deeply rooted in her multi-cultural heritage. As a young child, she lived in Charny, France, and moved around within the United States while her father was in military. She attended Lynchburg College where she majored in English, Writing and Secondary Education. Her love of history, her passion for the arts and her taste of originality is clearly depicted in her book, the first from Sappho Publishing, Sand, Pebbles, Fossils, and Rocks. This book is a culmination of decades of poetry that she has written and photographs she has taken all around the world.

“I Have Camera Eyes” (excerpt) by JoAnn Lord Koff:
“We shape what we see,
The mystery is in the image,
What we perceive, but a clue,
What I am, but a part.”

The Center for the Arts is located at 9419 Battle Street in historic Manassas. The Center for the Arts is open daily from 10 AM – 5 PM Mon – Fri; 1 pm – 5 pm Saturday.

Center for the Arts, Jordan Exum: 703-330-2787 – jexum@center-for-the-arts.org
9419 Battle St, Manassas, VA 20110
center-for-the-arts.org / instagram: @cfamanassas