A Museum of Voices

This chapter singles out ekphrasis as a productive strand of Jackie Kay’s poetry. It examines her engagement with this genre through an analysis of a selection of poems collected in Darling and Fieri that respond to paintings, sculptures, installations and other artefacts. Drawing on Stephen Greenblatt’s notion of ‘resonance’, I argue that Kay’s ekphrastic poems function as a critical force within the representational space of the museum. The poems reframe the art objects to articulate the narratives they both embody and silence, and encourage interpretations that go beyond traditional curatorial authority, or amplify the artistic voices behind them. The chapter places Kay’s practice in the tradition of ‘feminist ekphrasis’, one that foregrounds the female gaze and women’s perspectives and experiences. Many of her poems challenge the objectification of women in male art and reclaim women’s power as gazers and as insightful creators and artists. Through her innovative ekphrastic praxis, Kay contributes to the evolution of this ancient genre in the twenty-first century, and offers a compelling reflection on the public role that poetry is called to play by transcending the page and fusing with other media and spaces.