The Power of Real Places in Poetry
The Sopranos and Springsteen were onto something...
There’s something special about seeing a place you know reflected in art. It makes the story feel more personal and more alive.
That’s why I was always drawn to shows like The Sopranos, not just for the storytelling but because they filmed in real places, in and around my neighborhood, in fact. References to real places in music also make me so happy. That kind of connection has always influenced my writing.
I frequently mention real locations in my books, grounding poetry in places that have shaped me. As Poetry Month continues, I want to share some of my favorite New Jersey references in my work (don’t worry, none of them involve a diner booth or a suspicious cut to black).
One from Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately
The person in front of me doesn’t have to remove their shoes but I do (of course) so now I’m barefoot in Newark Airport. I make it to the gate and immediately insert my headphones. That doesn’t stop someone from asking, “So, where are you coming from?”
(How specific do you want me to get? I’m coming from therapy. I’m coming from a weekend of binge drinking. I’m coming from a sleepless night thanks to a migraine I’m still feeling.)
I answer, “Here. New Jersey.”
Excerpts from Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back
Sometimes I feel like I only feel anything when something is going wrong; that I only drive this far down the turnpike when I am losing my mind. Because no one new knew me at my best. My old friends were there before the detonator blew. – Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back
I sit alone on a bench in Independence Park. / My regret and loneliness keep me company / as children make believe the sprinkler is a harp; / the unknowing orchestrators of my symphony. – Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back
When you and I met, you smelled of summer at the Jersey Shore and I wanted to bottle up the entire four seconds. – Sorry I Haven’t Texted You Back
One from The Music Was Just Getting Good
Unbalanced scales become pedestals because maybe I deserve the compliments I am not accepting and maybe you don’t deserve the forgiveness you’re taking. I’m a disaster moonlighting as a New Jersey success story; a beautiful view out of the window of a train wreck. – The Music Was Just Getting Good
Excerpts from I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
I release my hands from the steering wheel as I leave the Garden State Parkway. They ache terribly. I must have been gripping the wheel much tighter than I realized. Once on McCarter Highway, the traffic slows because the Devils’ game is just letting out. – I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
You place a cherry blossom behind my ear and say it matches my dress and lips. We take refuge from reality under the pink trees in Branch Brook Park that will only stay as beautiful as this for another two days. – I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip
Everything is greener at the top of New Jersey, including your eyes. The waterfall is falling how I was; fast, without remorse, naturally. – I Hope My Voice Doesn’t Skip