Poet's Bio: Gabrielle Langley is the author of Azaleas on Fire. She has been 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). Published in the United States and in Europe, she is recipient of the Lorene Pouncey Award, Houston Poetry Fest's Jury Prize, Vivian Nellis Memorial Award for Creative Writing, and an ARTlines national poetry finalist. Ms. Langley is also a founder and editor of Red Sky: poetry on the global epidemic of violence against women (Sable Books - 2016). She has been selected as Houston Poetry Fest's Featured Poet (2017). During the day, Ms. Langley works as a mental health professional. To safeguard her own mental health, she writes poetry and dances Argentine tango at night.
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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 a devout minimalist in my sense of 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. Romantic Minimalism. I love playing these two aesthetics against each other.
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. I can't help it. It is in my blood.
At the same time, I was born and raised in the South, and my mother (also a Southerner) was an intrepid gardener. I grew up in a world --both real and imaginary-- 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... phalaenopsis orchids, white lilies, cyclamen, 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 often seem to spring up without invitation when I am writing. They appear to 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. So 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 an after-life. Quantum physics has always made far more sense, and brings more comfort to me, than any religion. I love science and inquiry, the willingness to challenge a hypothesis. And I have very little patience with those who are trying to pass off ancient myths and fairy-tale scribblings as religion and scientific truth. I cannot pretend to know the cosmic order of things. Even so, it often feels like the spirits of my parents visit me 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 a devout minimalist in my sense of 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. Romantic Minimalism. I love playing these two aesthetics against each other.
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. I can't help it. It is in my blood.
At the same time, I was born and raised in the South, and my mother (also a Southerner) was an intrepid gardener. I grew up in a world --both real and imaginary-- 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... phalaenopsis orchids, white lilies, cyclamen, 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 often seem to spring up without invitation when I am writing. They appear to 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. So 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 an after-life. Quantum physics has always made far more sense, and brings more comfort to me, than any religion. I love science and inquiry, the willingness to challenge a hypothesis. And I have very little patience with those who are trying to pass off ancient myths and fairy-tale scribblings as religion and scientific truth. I cannot pretend to know the cosmic order of things. Even so, it often feels like the spirits of my parents visit me 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
