Nancy Klepsch

Eat!

My mother's advice cubed: Manga, eat, Bella, Bella, Bella, Nancy, eat! Mrs. Franklin's cheesecake, The Lemon Ice King of Corona, mozzarella from Nancy's, Eat! Gabbadost, we're only going to throw it away. We make ham sandwiches and crumbs like confetti, Eat! Eat! Eat! Calzones, zeppoles, sausage and peppers, acini de pepe, good meat Uncle Guido brought special for us to eat, Eat! I remember when food was family was important was special was Nana in her housecoat making ravioli for us and no one and nobody was bigger better and more fun, so eat before it gets cold, eat before it gets cold, eat, eat, eat! 

Notes: Gabbadost – Italian slang for hard-headed" or "stubborn," derived from the Sicilian/Italian word "capatosta"

 

Nancy Klepsch is a founding member of Troy NY's poetry scene, having started its first open mic for poetry and prose 15 years ago.  She is the co-director of the Queer Poetry Prize and also curates River Poems. You can find her work in Sinister Wisdom, Barzakh (online), Trailer Park Quarterly, Oberon, 13th Moon, and Chronogram among others, and online in albanypoets.  An installation “about this building” was printed on twelve, 2’ X 3’ vinyl banners and mounted on the exterior façade of an abandoned building in her Troy, NY neighborhood, and her poem “Letter to a prison guard from a teacher” was installed on an 8’ X 10’ teacher’s blackboard as part of the exhibit called “Day Job.” Her poem "My Mother Was Effortlessly Cool" won second place from the Hudson Valley Writers Guild.  She has judged numerous literary prizes including RPI's McKinney Poetry Prize for undergraduate and graduate students.  Her books include god must be a boogie man (Riverside Community Press), Writing for the Land:  Rensselaer County (taconiclands.org) and the Battle, a chapbook from Bone Machine press in Brooklyn, NY.  You can find ordering information on her website nancyklepsch.com