EARL MCKENZIE

I am becoming increasingly aware that my poetry, painting, prose-fiction and academic philosophy are very closely related, and finding the oneness that links them is now part of my quest. I am very aware that viewers and readers will often see connections that I overlooked, so I see this book as part of an ongoing investigation. Although I have been drawing, painting and writing since childhood I have only recently discovered the word ekphrasis, which is the name for poetry written in response to visual art. I do not know if there is a name for visual art inspired by poetry. I also do not know if there is a name for linked poetry and visual art produced by the same person. What I have been pursuing seems to be a probably nameless sub-genre of this phenomenon. I hope to pursue the links between my painting and my philosophy in a future work. As a lover of Socratic dialogue my hope is that this book will contribute something to the conversation about the inter-relationship between the arts. Hopefully, it will move from a dialogue with myself to one with others.