FSU Center For Literary Arts Hosts Poet Mary Azrael On Campus

On the evening of Thursday, April 19, Frostburg State University Center for the Literary Arts (CLA) hosted award-winning Poet Mary Azrael at the Lyric Theatre. She is the author of four books containing her original poetry: The House No House, Victorians, Riddles for a Naked Sailor, and Black Windows. She is also the libretto for a choral work and an opera libretto. Her poems have appeared in journals such as Praire Schooner, Harpers, and Calyx, and she is the co-founder of Passager Books and an editor of national literary journal, Passager, which features the work of older writers. Traveling from Baltimore, Azrael shared pieces from her book, The House No House, to downtown Frostburg.

“I had poems published in magazines first; I was in my late 20s. My first book came out when I was in my 30s. It’s been a long time,” mentioned Azrael.

The House No House includes poems based off Azrael’s marriage unexpectedly coming to an end. “For their fortieth anniversary he got himself a girlfriend — twenty years younger,” Azrael sighed to the audience during her reading. Packed with vulnerable emotion, raw honesty, love, loss, loneliness, tragedy, and healing, the room fell silent to focus on the poet’s captivating words.

Azrael delivered a brief backstory with each poem as she discussed her unique experience with heartbreak and her healing process. “Writing is my outlet; it really helped. A lot of those writings turned into poems,” she remarked.

Following her reading, Azrael engaged in a conversation with audience members regarding her poetry, writing stages, personal life, and more. Commenting on the title of her book, The House No House, Azrael said, “the last poem in the book is called, ‘The House No House.’ It’s the only poem in this book that I really have no memory of writing. It’s one of those poems that just came out. It’s long and it’s a lot more abstract in a way, most of these poems are kind of telling a story. It seemed like the right title for the book. At one point, I did feel like my house and everything was falling down around me.”

“Where do I get my inspiration from? Well, I’m very visual, I like to look. A lot of what I see makes me want to write. But also, sounds of nature, sounds of the city, things that happen in the world that disturb me. Most of the time, a lot of the time, it has to do with being disturbed and wanting to do something but you can’t, so you just turn to words,” remarked Azrael.

She also gave some advice to young writers, saying, “well, I really think that reading is crucial. Read, read, read. Read what you love and just keep writing. Write and write and write. I used to copy out poems that I liked by hand, because I felt like I was writing them and it just slowed me down enough so I could really get what’s going on.”

Mary Azrael currently teaches poetry workshops at Johns Hopkins University and continues to inspire both writers and readers alike.