5 Questions for Poet Anthony Carelli

In honor of National Poetry Month, we're lucky to be able to feature one of our neighborhood's own poets. Anthony Carelli has lived all over the world, landing in Windsor Terrace four years ago. In some ways it's worked its way into his writing--maybe even more than South America ever could.

Tell us a little about yourself.

AC: I hail from Poynette, Wisconsin, a tiny no-stoplight village surrounded by cornfields, beanfields, and a stray house or two. I studied and wrote poetry at UW-Madison, then at NYU. I graduated from NYU with an MFA in poetry in 2003 and then drifted through the Americas--from Atlanta, GA; to Wildwood, NJ; back to Brooklyn; then to Valparaiso, Chile; then to Pilar, Paraguay--trying to find a life that would allow me some free time for poetry writing. I found plenty of free time, but, for whatever reason, most of the poems I wrote during those nomadic seasons were unfit for human consumption. I returned to Brooklyn in 2007 and found my current job at The Pie Shop, which has given me plenty of reasons to stay put. Frankly, I love the place and the work that I do there. I find that making and serving good espresso to our customers is not unlike writing a poem then reading it to a room full of friends. We come to both poems and coffee quietly and leave with our minds lit up. Also, poems and coffee both seem native to the space between two (or more) people--they're more dynamic and delicious when enjoyed in community.

You recently published a poem in The New Yorker, and your first book was just released. How did that come about?


In the year prior to the publications in question, I had been writing a bunch of poems that re-imagine iconic Biblical themes. The idea was to make, out of each iconic theme, something of the flesh (so to speak). I hoped to blossom new life into the words, and, in doing so, to show that a living word resists our grasp--it can be held briefly, but not absolutely. I was very excited about the poems and was trying to find good readers for them, looking especially to share the poems with poets who had addressed (or had avoided addressing) Biblical themes in ways that intrigued me. I had shared and discussed the poems with my circle of poet friends here, in Brooklyn, then with my former teacher, Philip Levine, and finally I sent a few to Paul Muldoon, whom I didn't know at the time. I wrote him an awkward long-winded question-filled advice-seeking email and attached a few poems. Six months later he responded, answering none of my questions, but asking if he could publish one of my poems in The New Yorker. I was thrilled, of course, but was still determined to solicit Mr. Muldoon's thoughts about the questions I had raised in my original email. So I sent another poem and another round of questions. His response came quickly this time: he asked if I had a book-length typescript of poems, and, if so, would I send it to him. I sent him a typescript titled Carnations. Three months later Mr. Muldoon asked if he could publish Carnations as part of the Princeton University Press's Series of Contemporary Poets. Now the book is out!

How has Windsor Terrace influenced your writing?

I work and live in Windsor Terrace. In fact I rarely leave the neighborhood. The influence the Terrace has had on my writing will be immediately apparent if you read Carnations--the book is full of Windsor Terrace images, rhythms, and even characters. The Pie Shop appears in the book; and Farrell's appears; as does our corner of Prospect Park with its glances of trees, softball fields, horses, and Frisbees.

What is the neighborhood's best kept secret?

I find the tight-knit community of Windsor Terrace to be an unlikely place for secrets to dwell. Too many of us are out-and-about, talking and talking. We spook the secrets. They've all moved to Manhattan.

Where can readers purchase your book?

We'll carry Carnations at The Pie Shop for a few weeks, but then we'll leave the book-selling to the book-sellers at Babbo's. I think Babbo's already has a few copies. The Pie Shop will have its copies very soon.

Anthony Carelli will be reading at the Red Horse Cafe P.O.D. series (497 6th Ave, Park Slope) on May 15.