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| Erika Dreifus, photo by Jody Christopherson |
Erika Dreifus is the author of Birthright,
a debut poetry collection. She is also the author of Quiet Americans: Stories.
She lives in New York.
Q:
You write, “In many ways, Birthright has been a lifetime work-in-progress. But
more technically speaking, work on these poems began in 2007; the book that
you’re reading now developed over 12 years...” Do you think your style changed
at all over the years you worked on the poems?
A:
Such an interesting question. If the style changed, I’m less conscious of that
than I am of shifts—expansions—in subject matter.
When
I began writing these poems, for example, I was not yet engaged in the close
study of sacred texts that led to many of the book’s midrashic pieces. I
suspect that my essential stylistic tendencies have remained more or less
constant, for better or for worse (let’s hope, for better!).
Q:
Do you see particular themes running through the collection?
A:
I do. The overall theme may be best summarized as “legacy.” But the book
approaches this theme through multiple streams: genetic/biological, historical,
religious, and literary.
I’m
hoping that through these poems, which emanate from my own experience of
inheritance, the poems suggest ways in which all of us may be influenced in how
we perceive ourselves and process the world around us.
Q:
How did you decide on the order in which the poems would appear?
A:
First, I revisited some of the collections on my bookshelves and studied how those
books had been organized and sequenced. Then, I assembled a draft manuscript
for a poetry-manuscript workshop that I attended at the Vermont College of Fine
Arts (VCFA) Postgraduate Writers’ Conference (PWC).
The
feedback from other writers in the workshop and, then, my individual meeting
with workshop instructor Kathleen Graber, were both extremely helpful.
For
instance, I’d initially tried to cluster poems together by general theme: all
the family-history-focused poems together; all the biblical/religious-ritual
poems together; etc.
But
I was often stymied because a number of the poems reflected more than one of
the book’s primary subjects—I couldn’t decide where to assign them. And then,
some clusters seemed to outweigh others.
Kathleen
helped me realize that Birthright could be a book without categories, that I
should allow the poems the freedom to mix and mingle, as it were. She helped me
understand the value of placing certain ostensibly “unrelated” poems
side-by-side, and she offered some specific suggestions.
I
returned home and reorganized the manuscript, mixing things up as Kathleen had
advised.
Then
I asked another poet, Matthew Lippman, to consult on the new version. I had
taken two online classes with Matthew back when I began this entire
poetry-writing project. I knew him to be an excellent teacher, and I knew that
he understood my work. He added his suggestions, and eventually, the order was
settled.
Q:
How was the collection's title chosen, and what does it signify for you?
A:
It’s common for the title of one poem within a collection to lend itself to the
entire work. “Birthright” seemed to me a title that would lead readers smoothly
into the pages that follow, a title with connotations and resonances with so
many of the themes and topics within.
Q:
What are you working on now?
A:
This fall finds me having returned, at long last, to the undergraduate
classroom. I’m teaching a new course on 21st-century Jewish literature, so the
dominant form that my writing seems to be taking these days is that of the
“comment on student essays.”
Between
that and other commitments, and the work involved with launching Birthright,
I’m not expecting to progress much on my “own” writing projects until the
semester ends. Please stay tuned!
Q:
Anything else we should know?
A:
I’m fairly active on social media, where, as my Twitter bio notes, I tend to
focus on “matters bookish and/or Jewish.” I’d love to connect with readers on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Goodreads.
Please say hello!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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