Mark Pritchard features and interviews Vanessa Place for Too Beautiful’s series, “Writers on their works in progress.”

My current project is an experimental novel composed of assorted stories and ekphratic objects: the stories are told in various narrative forms, everything from short stories to stories-within-stories and novel chapters; the ekphratic objects include iconical and imaginary artworks. I have no formal background in art or art history, and that is exactly the point of the project: ekphrasis (the most famous examples include Homer’s description of Achilles’ shield, Shelley’s On the Medusa of Leonardo daVinci, Rilke’s Torso of Apollo, Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn) has been mostly poetry’s attempt to trump visual art. But as words put to music become lyrics, words put to art can become another literary incantation.

Read the full interview at Too Beautiful.