Poet's Bio: Gabrielle Langley is the author of Azaleas on Fire (Sable Books, 2019) and Fairy Tale (Sable Books, 2022). Featured in the Huffington Post and the Houston Chronicle as one of Houston's important emerging poets (“Five Poets You Need to Know About,” HuffPost 11/23/2015), she has received the Lorene Pouncey Award, the Vivian Nellis Memorial Award for Creative Writing, and was named Houston Poetry Fest's Featured Poet for 2017. She is a national ARTlines poetry finalist and a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee. With work appearing internationally, Ms. Langley was also a spearhead and co-editor for Red Sky: Poetry on the global epidemic of violence against women (Sable Books, 2016).
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Poet's Statement: I am especially interested in exploring romantic themes within a very disciplined and restrained style. I am also fascinated by the art of compressing vast stories into small spaces. I have been described as a "Neo-Romantic." Paradoxically, I am also devout minimalist in my aesthetics. I am often told by other poets – and I consider this a true compliment – that my style shows a romantic's sensibility captured within a minimalist framework. I love this idea; I like to call it Romantic Minimalism. I love blending these two seemingly disparate styles.
My work has also been described as European. My father, who had an enormous impact on how I perceive the world, was born and raised in Berlin and educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. I am, myself, fortunate enough to travel often throughout Europe. I feel completely at home in the capital cities there. So I think there is always going to be a sense of that continent in my work.
At the same time, I was born and raised in the South of the United States. My mother (also a native Southerner) was an intrepid gardener, so I grew up in a world filled with flowers, humidity, frequent rain and the rich black gumbo soil that we have here in the southeast. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am obsessed with white flowers— white lilies, Phalaenopsis orchids, gardenias, magnolias, climbing jasmine, etc. These flowers make frequent appearances in my work. My poem "Narcissus,” for example, draws heavily on the intoxicating magic of these tiny flowers. Flowers of all colors seem to spring up without invitation when I am writing. They weave themselves into the lines of my poetry, even when I am trying to keep the piece sleek and contemporary. No doubt, this is the influence of my mother's gardening.
All of my parents and grandparents have passed away now. These days, I feel like something of an orphan. Moreover, I am not a religious person. I have never been convinced, one way or the other, that there is, or is not, an after-life. Quantum physics has always made far more sense—and brings far more comfort to me—than any religious doctrine. I do love science and inquiry, the willingness to investigate a hypothesis. And I have very little patience with those who try to pass off ancient myths and fairy-tales as absolute religion or scientific truth. I cannot pretend to know the cosmic order of things. Even so, it often feels like the ghosts of my parents visit me often when I am writing. I seem to feel them sitting in the same room with me. I feel truly grateful for this. My poems are given back to them in thanks. -- GL
Poet's Statement: I am especially interested in exploring romantic themes within a very disciplined and restrained style. I am also fascinated by the art of compressing vast stories into small spaces. I have been described as a "Neo-Romantic." Paradoxically, I am also devout minimalist in my aesthetics. I am often told by other poets – and I consider this a true compliment – that my style shows a romantic's sensibility captured within a minimalist framework. I love this idea; I like to call it Romantic Minimalism. I love blending these two seemingly disparate styles.
My work has also been described as European. My father, who had an enormous impact on how I perceive the world, was born and raised in Berlin and educated at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna. I am, myself, fortunate enough to travel often throughout Europe. I feel completely at home in the capital cities there. So I think there is always going to be a sense of that continent in my work.
At the same time, I was born and raised in the South of the United States. My mother (also a native Southerner) was an intrepid gardener, so I grew up in a world filled with flowers, humidity, frequent rain and the rich black gumbo soil that we have here in the southeast. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am obsessed with white flowers— white lilies, Phalaenopsis orchids, gardenias, magnolias, climbing jasmine, etc. These flowers make frequent appearances in my work. My poem "Narcissus,” for example, draws heavily on the intoxicating magic of these tiny flowers. Flowers of all colors seem to spring up without invitation when I am writing. They weave themselves into the lines of my poetry, even when I am trying to keep the piece sleek and contemporary. No doubt, this is the influence of my mother's gardening.
All of my parents and grandparents have passed away now. These days, I feel like something of an orphan. Moreover, I am not a religious person. I have never been convinced, one way or the other, that there is, or is not, an after-life. Quantum physics has always made far more sense—and brings far more comfort to me—than any religious doctrine. I do love science and inquiry, the willingness to investigate a hypothesis. And I have very little patience with those who try to pass off ancient myths and fairy-tales as absolute religion or scientific truth. I cannot pretend to know the cosmic order of things. Even so, it often feels like the ghosts of my parents visit me often when I am writing. I seem to feel them sitting in the same room with me. I feel truly grateful for this. My poems are given back to them in thanks. -- GL