Erica Miriam Fabri

Craft: Poet/Performer/Educator
Lives:  12 years in NYC
Why we think they’re cool: She just released her first collection of poetry called Dialect of a Skirt.
Where to find them: ericafabri.com
Book: spdbooks.org
Interview by: José

Jose: I first want to ask you about your background.  You look Latina.
Erica: A lot of people ask me that. People who speak Spanish stop me in the street sometimes and speak Spanish [laughs].  I grew up here, but my family is actually Italian.  In fact, I grew up in an Italian restaurant!

J: I had to ask. So you just released Dialect of a Skirt, a collection of poems, a couple of months ago.  Tell me about that.
E: It’s my first collection of poems. It’s an introspective from the voices of many different women. It encompasses many different things that different women might encounter, from the conservative to the liberal woman.  There’s commentary about religion and a lot of love poems.  Each chapter is a different skirt.
 
J:  You have a reading coming up at the Bluestockings Radical Bookstore. 
E: At Bluestockings, I’ll be reading with three other female poets (Mahogany Browne, Ellen Hagan and Tara Betts) which will be great. Because the b,ook just came out a couple of months ago, I have a number of readings and performances booked for the first six months or so, and they’re all a little different in style.

J:  What do you mean? 
E: Well, Bluestockings, being a bookstore, will be more of a literary reading, but I also perform poetry that is more performance-based, and I’ve also started writing and performing with the musician, Robin Andre, who’s also my boyfriend. We’re called "The Robin and the Lady Poet," and we write a combination of songs and poems.  We’ve been doing some recordings as well as performing live with a guitar or other music that we integrate.  

J:  It’s gotta be nice to change it up. 
E: Exactly. It’s cool because my stuff works in all different kinds of venues, whether it’s a bookstore or a venue like Nuyorican Poets Cafe, which has more performance poets, or a music venue.

J:  You have a great poem entitled Love in an Ice Cream Truck,  which we have featured on our site.  How does your boyfriend feel about that one?
E: He loves that poem! I’m the one who gets a little self-conscious about it. Sometimes I announce to the crowd that it’s a fictional story before I perform it.  

J:  That was going to be my next question.
E: Yeah. I especially say that if my mother is in the audience [laughs].

J:  “He kissed me nine times from soda fountain to doorstep...”  I love that line!
E: Thanks. The cover of my book was actually inspired by that poem.  We were on a photo shoot for The Robin and the Lady Poet, and it just so happened that an ice cream truck pulled up, and Robin was like, “You should take pictures with that ice cream truck,” (because of the poem). The book cover ended up being a combination of some photos from that shoot (by the amazing photographer, Linda Turley) and some original art by the incomparable graphic designer and artist, Black Cracker.

J: Tell me about teaching performance poetry at Pace University.
E: It’s a great, great program. My first degree was in theater and performance,  my second degree was in creative writing,  and then I got my Masters Degree in poetry.  The courses I teach at Pace combine all the arts I’ve studied and the things I’ve done. 

J: That’s ideal.
E: It is.  Because it’s in the theater department, it’s a poetry-based class for actors.   A lot of the students are really, really excited about it, because performance poetry is so hot right now, and it’s something they never really had the opportunity to study in a formal way.  

J: I remember a few years ago, a best friend of mine surprised me for my birthday with tickets to go see HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. It was an amazing experience.  
E: It's a great show. There’s something powerful about being in it.  I’ve had students and friends featured on the show, so I’ve had the pleasure of attending the taping. There’s something about the energy of the room that makes the poets perform even more passionately than usual, making you feel like you’re hearing the poems for the first time. 

J: I’ve read that you have facilitated workshops in prisons. What’s that like?
E:  Unbelievable.  I’ve worked as an instructor and mentor for both incarcerated and recently released students. It’s great to offer creative opportunities while they’re still incarcerated, but they’re also paired up with a writing mentor as soon as they’re released, because that’s such a crucial time. It’s really inspiring.  
 
J:  What inspires you? 
E:  Other poetry. When I first started writing poetry seriously, I would always read other people’s poetry.  But really, lots of art moves me, whether it’s a performance, play, music or visual art.   I’m also inspired by everyday life and things I see. Right now I’ve been writing about Haiti. We’re working on a new song about the earthquake.
 
J: Have you noticed a shift in poetry, given that New Yorkers seem to be going through a rough time right now?
E: To be honest, I don’t know if poetry is affected in the same way.   Artists in general thrive in all different situations, so I don’t think they have been affected negatively the way other people have. 
 
J: Valentine's Day. You love it? Hate it? 
E: I LOVE love. Everything that has to do with love I’m usually a fan of.  It wasn’t intentional, but I sort of became a love poet. When other people would get up to introduce my work, they would say, “She’s a poet of true love; she’s a love poet”.  It’s funny, ‘cuz I remember editing out certain poems in the book ‘cuz I didn’t want them to think I’m too sappy or too soft, but I got caught anyway. So I'm resigned to it [laughs]. 

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Two Upcoming Readings:

Erica Miriam Fabri (with Tara Betts, Mahogany Browne and Ellen Hagan)
Wednesday, FEBRUARY 11th, 2010 @ 7pm
Bluestockings Radical Bookstore
172 Allen Street, NYC, NY              FREE
 
The Robin and the Lady Poet (Erica Miriam Fabri and Robin Andre)
Wednesday, FEBRUARY 24th, 2010 @7pm
Café Nijasol
173 Montrose Ave, Williamsburg, NY              FREE

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How did Erica answer our Outsider questions?
 
1. List a few things in your fridge.
E: Acai, coconut water, soy milk, and pineapple juice.
2. If you could have any job in New York City for a week, what would it be?
E:  The mayor, but for no more than a week, though!
3. What's your favorite NY icon? Person, place or thing.
E: I love the Brooklyn Bridge.
4: Which crowd would you avoid?  Tourists in Times Square. shoppers on Canal Street, or New Yorkers during rush hour?
E: New Yorkers during rush hour.
5: Describe your ideal NY Date.
E:  I love walking. So maybe, a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge and a walk along the water. I also like eating really late at night!

Tags: Jose, Interview