Poem in Pictures Picture poetry is a picture made with words, whereas photo poetry utilizes an actual photograph. Both styles are attractive to read, but I prefer the pictorial format, which I shall detail in this essay. The first image poem was written by Robert Henryson in 1553. He called his collection "Fayttes of Arms and Leges". It consisted of 31 poems written in line drawings. These poems were based on traditional Scottish songs. There are also some scenes from classical mythology included in the book. In 1842, John Clare published "Pictures from Books", a collection of 32 poems composed using illustrations from books. They reflect his life as a farm worker and mill hand in West Yorkshire. In 1956, American poet Robert Duncan published a volume of poetry entitled "Early Images". It included 39 poems that were originally printed in literary magazines between 1908 and 1945. One of these poems, "The Opening of the Field Museum at Chicago", uses photographs as inspiration for its imagery. In 2007, British photographer David Hockney released a book of poems called "Distant Light". It includes images that were created using light bulbs and lamps around his home in California. The poems themselves were written several years earlier, in 2000. But it wasn't until then that Hockney decided to have them printed together with the photos.