Erica Miriam Fabri

ERICA MIRIAM FABRI

Erica Miriam Fabri is a Brooklyn based poet. Her first book, Dialect of a Skirt, (published by Hanging Loose Press) was a finalist for the Paterson Poetry Prize and was included on the About.com Best Books list; as well as the best-seller lists for Small Press Distribution and The Poetry Foundation. Her work has been published in numerous literary journals and magazines and was included in the anthologies CHORUS: A Literary Mixtape (edited by Saul Williams for MTV Books) and COURAGE: Daring Poems for Gutsy Girls (Write Bloody Press). She has worked on projects as a writer, editor, and performance director for The New York Knicks, Urban Word NYC, HBO, and Nickelodeon Television. Her poetry has been featured in muti-media formats for short films and television commercial programming. She currently teaches Performance Poetry and Fiction Writing at Pace University.

Website: ericafabri.com | Instagram @ericamiriamfabri

Photo courtesy of the Artist, Erica Miriam Fabri

FRAGMENTS #2023

December 22 to January 31, 2023
10 Times Square Billboard, South East Corner of 41st Street and 7th Avenue
PRESENTED BY ZAZ CORNER “IN BETWEEN”

Fragments #2023 is a series of videos created in 2023, these three videos feature small fragments of longer works of poetry by Erica Miriam Fabri. Artwork curated by Limei Wang.

“For most of my life I have been drawn to poetry because it is the shortest and most succinct form of storytelling (compared to the short story or the novel). In our modern world of social media, memes, and 15-second video reels, society has made it normal practice to consume information in only very fast quotes or soundbites. The poem, an already short form of literature, now, often seems too long to capture a person’s attention long enough to absorb the complete statement. With this project, I am highlighting only fragments of longer poems and allowing them to be large, loud, colorful, and fast. Instead of being disillusioned by our contemporary habits of feeding on quick portions of text and messaging, I am acknowledging my own tendency to carry only fractions of song lyrics, speeches, and poems in my own consciousness. The ancient Greek poet, Sappho, produced nine volumes of poetry and only two complete poems have survived. The rest of her work is estimated to be between 40 and 200 fragments of poetry. Even in only fragment form, her work is a powerful statement of passionate love, grief, anxiety, and emotional crisis.” — Erica Miriam Fabri

Artist Statement

My creative practice has always felt like a desperate and passionate attempt to leave a first-person record of what happened during a lifetime of love and loss. Because poetry is highly symbolic, it captures emotions and memories in small, but powerful, bursts. As a child who dreamt of becoming a writer, I imagined a future of published paper-bound books serving as a marker of a successful career and a symbol of legacy. When our world became a primarily digital space, instead of rejecting these technologies, I convinced myself to embrace them. Newspapers, magazines, and books have now made their homes on our devices instead of our bookshelves. My poetry thrives on word-imagery, and I have always been drawn to bold colorful displays of visual imagery. My goal is to continue to create the same poetry I have always created, but to find a place for these poems in multi-media formats.

Curator Statement

With the holidays and the new year approaching, I was compelled to curate a unique experience for our billboard. My exploration led me to the captivating multimedia artwork titled "Fragments #2023" by Erica Miriam Fabri. In a departure from our usual exhibits, this marks the first time we showcase a poet. Our intention is to captivate viewers amidst the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, offering a source of inspiration and a positive message as we step into the new year. — Limei Wang