Eileen Albrizio

Eileen Albrizio Poems

Eileen Albrizio Biography

Eileen Albrizio is an American writer of poetry and prose. She was born in Hartford, CT in 1963, where she still lives today. Her poetry has appeared in numerous literary publications, including the 'Common Ground Review' and the 'Underwood Review.' She is the author of three print volumes of poetry: MESSY ON THE INSIDE, RAIN - DARK AS WATER IN WINTER, and PERENNIALS: NEW & SELECTED POEMS. ON THE EDGE, a recitation of her poetry on CD was produced with the help of a 2003 Poetry Fellowship from the Greater Hartford Arts Council. She has also penned several plays, two novels, and is currently working on a compilation of fictional short stories. She is the 2003 and 2008 recipient of the New Boston Fund Individual Artist Fellowships for Poetry. Albrizio has taught poetry and creative writing in several colleges and cultural institutions as well as the York Correctional Institute, Connecticut’s only maximum-security prison for women. In 2005, Albrizio left a twelve-year career as a radio news host and broadcast journalist. Nine of those twelve years were spent working for National Public Radio and its Connecticut affiliate, WNPR in Hartford, CT. During her broadcasting career, her newscasts, spot news stories and featured stories were repeatedly awarded first-prize honors from the Associated Press and the Society of Professional Journalists. Albrizio graduated from the Connecticut School of Broadcasting, and then went on to earn her BFA in Theatre from Central Connecticut State University as well as her MA in English from the same university. In addition to her writing and teaching, Albrizio assists her husband, Wayne Horgan, who is a Realtor with Prudential Connecticut Realty. The two have owned and operated Heroes & Hitters, a comic book store in Rocky Hill, CT, since 1989. Albrizio's Publications: MESSY ON THE INSIDE was published by Ye Olde Font Shoppe Press in 1998. Albrizio's first book of poetry, it consists of 60 poems written entirely in formal verse. Utilizing such traditional forms as the English sonnet, pantoum, villanelle, sestina and haiku, this book spotlights Albrizio's ability to master form without losing the poem's accessibility. From the success of this book, Albrizio created an acclaimed formal verse workshop. RAIN - DARK AS WATER IN WINTER was published by Ye Olde Font Shoppe Press in 2001. This book consists of a one-act play written in verse, as well as 30 poems written in traditional forms. The one-act play, Rain, was honored by the Writer’s Digest as one of the best written one-act plays of 1997. The two-character play focuses on the cycle of an emotionally abusive relationship between Rain and her lover, Perfidy. The play has a profound iambic rhythm, while the rhyme, although consistently placed, is only subtly heard. PERENNIALS: NEW & SELECTED POEMS marks Albrizio’s break from traditional forms. It was published by Ye Olde Font Shoppe Press in 2007. Although it includes some of her most well received poems from her previous two books, it also consists of over 30 new poems that are largely written in free verse or in forms of her own creation. She continues to teach poetry workshops, but has since added a segment on applying the rhetorical devices used in formal verse to free-verse writing. The Greater Hartford Arts Council and the New Boston Fund have honored with excellence several free-verse poems that were later included in the first chapter of this book. ON THE EDGE(Audio CD) was produced in 2003 with the help of a Poetry Fellowship from the Greater Hartford Arts Council. This audio collection, featuring the voice of Eileen Albrzio, consists of 20 selected poems from her three books of poetry.)

The Best Poem Of Eileen Albrizio

Smoke

After fourteen years smoke-free,
I asked my brother for a cigarette.
Hesitant, he tapped the pack
until one filtered tip popped out.

You were watching me,
yet didn’t interfere
as I struck the match,
inhaled, then inhaled once more.

Crackling tobacco assaulted my throat,
burned its way to my lungs,
left an acrid aftertaste.
Even sitting I felt dizzy.

My three surviving brothers
and I drew as hard as we could,
hoping to cloud our world
and hide what lay inside.

It’s what we did as kids. We smoked.
They taught me but didn’t know it.
A little girl scooping up
smoldering butts dropped in the grass.

I was the only one who quit.
But as we sat outside the hospital
I joined them in one last smoke,
still trying to be like my older brothers.

Somehow, I thought he would join us.
But when I snuffed the stub
he was still dead
and you were still watching me.

Once home, I stripped off my clothes,
washed the stench from my hair,
held you close to feel your breath
prove your life against my neck.

Eileen Albrizio Comments