Poetry took center stage at the Museum of Northwest Art on Saturday, where community members gathered to close the “Through the Light” exhibition with an afternoon of verse.

The event was part of MoNA’s ongoing series, “The Writing’s on the Wall: Poetry Program,” which celebrates local poets by pairing readings with exhibition themes. 

Emcee Duane Kirby Jensen said audience connection made the reading hum. “It is always easier to read to an audience when you know they are paying attention,” he said.

Thirteen poets stepped to the mic, including Mark Strohschein, Cora Thomas, Adam Lafayette, Celaine Charles, Kara Briggs, Morgan Randall, Louise Perram, Wesley Fullerton, Deborrah Corr, Eugene Marckx, Linda Vandlac Smith, Merrilee Harrell, Tonja Michelle, and Jensen himself. Many shared ekphrastic works — poems inspired by visual art or music — some written directly in response to pieces on display.

Charles is a longtime participant who visits MoNA months in advance to craft poems that reflect the art, Jensen said. On Saturday, Charles read three pieces: “For the Moment,” responding to Weston Lambert’s Mutton Fat Jade; “Division in Absolute,” from Camas Logue’s “I Don’t Want To Leave This Place/My Homeland”; and “Peonies Sing,” inspired by Drie Chapek’s Breezy Dawn.The museum recently launched an online audio publication of original ekphrastic poetry at www.monamuseum.org/writings-on-the-wall-poems. The next installment, “Writing’s on the Wall – An Open Mic on Vitamin P: Poetry for Wellbeing,” will be held Jan. 10. Related programs this fall include “Conversations on Conversations: Walkthrough & Reading” with poet Josie Emmons Turner on Nov. 8, and “Writing at the Seam: An Ekphrastic Memoir Workshop” with Jessica Gigot on Nov. 22.