Equi, Elaine 1953–

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Equi, Elaine 1953–

PERSONAL:

Born July 24, 1953, in Oak Park, IL; daughter of Angelo and Felicia Equi; married Jerome Sala (a poet), September 22, 1985. Education: Columbia College, B.A., M.A., 1986.

ADDRESSES:

Home—New York, NY. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer, educator. Columbia College, Chicago, IL, writing instructor, 1983-89; The New School, New York, NY, poetry writing instructor, 1993; City College of the City University of New York, New York, NY, writing instructor, 1995; Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, writing instructor, 1996-97; Conjunctions magazine, New York, NY, senior editor, 1998-2002. Has presented seminars and workshops for various groups, including the University of California at San Diego, University of Minnesota at Minneapolis, the Art Institute of Chicago, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston University, and the Dia Foundation for the Arts of New York City.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Best Small Press Award, Illinois Arts Council, 1987; Fund for Poetry grant, 1989 and 1995; San Francisco State Poetry Award, 1998.

WRITINGS:

Federal Woman, Danaides Press (Chicago, IL), 1978.

Shrewcrazy: Poems, Little Caesar Press (Los Angeles, CA), 1981.

The Corners of the Mouth, Iridescence (Culver City, CA), 1986.

Accessories, The Figures (Great Barrington, MA), 1988.

Surface Tension: Poems, Coffee House Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1989.

Decoy: Poems, Coffee House Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1994.

Voice-Over: Poems, Coffee House Press (Minneapolis, MN), 1998.

Friendship with Things, The Figures (Great Barrington, MA), 1998.

The Cloud of Knowable Things: Poems, Coffee House Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2003.

Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems, Coffee House Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2007.

Contributor of poetry to anthologies, including The Best American Poetry of 1989, The Gertrude Stein Awards in Innovative North American Poetry: 1993-94, The Gertrude Stein Awards in Innovative North American Poetry: 1994-95, and The Best American Poetry of 1995. Contributor to periodicals, including the American Poetry Review, Paris Review, New American Writing, Sulfur, Grand Street, Conjunctions, Views without Rooms, and Accessories: 1988-89.

SIDELIGHTS:

Poet Elaine Equi began composing poems when she was still in grade school, but only became serious about her writing in her late teens. Equi's poetry is notable for its use of all the senses and a participatory aspect that requires readers to really engage with the images in order to appreciate the full impact of her words. Born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois, and educated at Columbia College in Chicago, Equi nevertheless credits the New York School poets who were working during her formative years with the greatest influence on her work. In an interview with Jenni Russell on the MiPoesias Magazine online, Equi explained: "I love the New York school and Frank O'Hara in particular. He seemed very passionate to me, and personal in a really witty way that no one had ever tried. You could say that the NY school poets are what I grew up with." She is quick to add, however, that her influences are far more wide ranging that that, stating: "In poetry I've always thought globally rather than locally. I had a long and intense Objectivist phase, an on-going affair with surrealism, a deep appreciation for Chinese and Japanese traditions of poetry, a wouldn't-go-anywhere-without-my-Paul-Celan period."

In Decoy: Poems, Equi offers readers a combination of ironic wit and sparse, vivid imagery. Very much a modern writer, she combines the classic lines of haiku with a surprisingly eclectic array of subjects, ranging from Rilke to UFOs. Chris Faatz, writing in the Nation, called the result "one of the most enjoyable and rewarding books of poetry I've read in quite a while," while a reviewer for Publishers Weekly remarked that the book "successfully merges the serious and absurd in language that is by turns ironic, frivolous, and lyrical."

Voice-Over: Poems collects a number of Equi's poems in which she plays the observer who reflects on what she has seen, all the while keeping her own emotions subdued. Mary Ann Koruth, in a review for the Rain Taxi Review of Books, remarked that Equi "brings very little of herself to the poem—no more than a thought or a feeling—and her appearances never last long. They only serve to build an image, raise a question, or make an observation." Koruth concluded that Equi "writes deftly and with brevity…. Her voice here moderates, unifies, and is, very often, soothing to the mind and ear."

The Cloud of Knowable Things: Poems again looks at the average, everyday images that surround us. Equi connects items that seem unconnected, forcing readers to open their eyes and look at the world from a new perspective. A reviewer for Publishers Weekly noted that "her best work combines lyric depth with restrained and epigrammatic wit." David Harris, reviewing for Bookslut, dubbed the book "a joyful dip into the playground of language, where words joust amicably, sometimes cutting deeper than an innocent tangle."

Equi offers readers both a collection of her older works and an entire new grouping in Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems. The poems reveal a pattern to Equi's thoughts, including both her concern for larger events and her appreciation for the smaller details of life. Floyd Skloot, in a review for the New York Times Book Review Online, praised her writing and versatility, stating: "Equi is a poet of transformations, exploring the pathway linking inner and outer worlds, dream life and lived life, heart and mind. She finds inspiration everywhere."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Contemporary Poets, 7th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2001.

PERIODICALS

Chicago, July, 1990, G.E. Murray, review of Surface Tension: Poems, p. 64.

Library Journal, January, 1995, Judy Clarence, review of Decoy: Poems, p. 106; February 1, 1999, Judy Clarence, review of Voice-Over: Poems, p. 93; March 1, 2003, Diane Scharper, review of The Cloud of Knowable Things: Poems, p. 92; March 1, 2007, Doris Lynch, review of Ripple Effect: New and Selected Poems, p. 87.

Nation, December 26, 1994, Chris Faatz, review of Decoy, p. 810.

Publishers Weekly, October 31, 1994, review of Decoy, p. 56; November 30, 1998, review of Voice-Over, p. 67; February 17, 2003, review of The Cloud of Knowable Things, p. 71; March 19, 2007, review of Ripple Effect, p. 42.

Women's Review of Books, December, 2003, review of The Cloud of Knowable Things, p. 14.